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BARREL CYLINDER 

Of Nabopolassar, father of Nebuchadnezzar, containing an ac¬ 
count of his religious acts. Found in Babylon by 
the author. Now in Emory University. 



THE AMERICAN SCIENTIFIC MISSION, ABOARD “THE 
CITY OF BENARES,” CROSSING THE RED SEA. 

From left to right: Dr. J. H. Breasted, Director; Prof. D. D. 
Luckenbill, the Author, W. J. Edgerton, and L. S. Bull. 












Dust and Ashes 
of Empires 


W: A: ^HELTON, M.A., D.D. 

Professor of Semitic Languages and Literature in 
Emory University , Atlanta , Ga. 


Introduction by 

BISHOP WARREN A. CANDLER 


REVISED EDITION 


Nashville, Tenn. 
COKESBURY PRESS 
1924 





Copyright, 1934 

BY 

Lamar & Barton 


©C1A808569 


Printed in the United States of America 



- Co - 

THE MEMORY OF 

RUTH 


Beloved daughter, youngest of the 
flock, born August 30,1913, who 
watched and waited and prayed, 
during the long journey about 
which this book is written, and, 
who, on the eve of its publica¬ 
tion, February 18, 1922, passed 
through the fire and went home 
to God, to await the coming of 
loved ones from their last long 
journey; to her, who was beau¬ 
tiful and beloved in life and tri¬ 
umphant in death, this volume 
is affectionately dedicated. 









FOREWORD 


This unpretentious volume is a simple travel 
story, written for the popular mind and with no claim 
to be the result of profound scholarly investigation; 
but at the same time, it is the story of an expedition 
carried out in the most scientific way and under the 
direction of a master scholar in the archaeological 
field. It is the travel-record of one member of “The 
American Scientific Mission,” a name given to the 
expedition by the British Foreign Office after its 
arrival in the Near East. This narrative is an accu¬ 
rate description of those places which were visited 
and of the conditions prevailing at the time. The 
book deals largely in personal experiences and de¬ 
scriptions written on the ground or soon after the 
happenings. An attempt is made to bring a clear 
mental picture of Bible lands and historical places 
to that large body of people interested in this field 
who have not had the opportunity of traveling over 
the territory itself 

To the other members of the expedition (Dr. 
Breasted, Dr. Luckenbill, Mr. Bull, and Mr. Edger- 
ton) the author acknowledges a large debt of grati¬ 
tude, for kindnesses shown, for patience under the 
most trying circumstances, and for the good fellow¬ 
ship which prevailed through weary months of 
hardships and privations, and which forged, out of 
such fires, eternal friendships. 

The author is greatly indebted also to Dr. E. F. 
Dempsey, of Atlanta, Ga., for special favors; to Dr. 

( 5 ) 


6 


Dust and Ashes of Empires 

A. T. Clay, of Yale University, for friendship and 
suggestions; to Emory University for sending him out 
and providing for his work during the long absence; 
and to the wife, who stayed by the stuff and bravely 
kept the flock. The writer desires especially to 
acknowledge everlasting obligations to that great 
nobleman of God, Mr. John A. Manget, of Atlanta, 
who so generously provided the funds for his partici¬ 
pation in the expedition and also for the laying of the 
foundation for a museum of antiquity at Emory 
University. 

It is confidently hoped that the readers of this vol¬ 
ume will find a clearer vision of the historical and 
geographical setting of the Bible and also many 
illustrations which will make plainer the meaning 
of certain passages, by means of the Oriental side 
lights herein suggested. 

The archaeologist will likewise find a setting for 
his investigations and will be able to make use of the 
survey which is woven into this story. 

With due recognition of its weaknesses as well as 
of its merits, and hoping for it a kindly reception 
from the reading public, we commit it to the press. 

The Author. 

Emory University, Ga., March 30, 1922. 


INTRODUCTION 


Here is a most interesting and informing book, in 
the reading of which the learned will find pleasure 
and the unlearned instruction. 

The author, Dr. William A. Shelton, devoted much 
of the year 1920 in making a scientific survey of 
many of the monumental ruins of the Near East, 
beginning with Egypt and continuing through Assyria, 
Babylonia, Syria, and Palestine. 

Through these lands the company of scholars of 
which Dr. Shelton was a member went, not as tour¬ 
ists passing along the familiar routes of sight-see¬ 
ing “globe-trotters,” but as earnest and qualified 
explorers they passed through regions where in “the 
dust and ashes of empires” repose things of supreme 
interest to mankind. They knew the places of great¬ 
est importance, and what to do when there. A serious 
purpose engaged them, and, in its pursuit, they were 
not discouraged by dangers, nor depressed by hard¬ 
ships, nor discouraged by difficulties. 

They were fortunate in the time of their going 
forth, just after the world war had closed, in which 
British armies had won victories that opened notable 
ways before them and extended desirable protection 
over them. 

In this volume Dr. Shelton has recorded much of 
the results of their labors, and in the most pleasing 
manner he has set down his own observations. 

In an easy, familiar style of unaffected simplicity 

( 7 ) 


8 


Dust and Ashes of Empires 

he has told the story of the goings and doings of 
“The American Scientific Mission.” His narration is 
not beyond the comprehension of the most unlearned 
reader, nor beneath the consideration of the most 
learned. His pages are illumined by citations of 
historical incidents connected with the places visited, 
which impart an added charm to the record of the 
experiences of himself and his companions. The 
tale he thus tells enlightens the intellect and enthralls 
the imagination. It reads like a romance. 

Best of all, every chapter is pervaded by a pro¬ 
found reverence for the Hebrew and Christian 
Scriptures which stimulates faith in their authentic¬ 
ity and inspires respect for their authority. Many 
passages in both the Old Testament and the New 
Testament are illumined by what he tells of these 
ancient lands in which Abraham journeyed, Jacob 
saw visions, Moses wrote laws, David sang, and the 
prophets “spake as they were moved by the Holy 
Ghost.” Wherefore, this is an edifying book; for Dr. 
Shelton writes out of the first-hand knowledge of an 
archaeologist, and not out of the subjective theoriz¬ 
ing of a rationalistic critic whose investigations have 
not been wider than the revolution of his swivel-chair, 
and whose penetration into things Oriental has not 
been deeper than his inkwell. He tells in plain 
language what he has seen and knows, and not 
what he might imagine “probably"' was. 

It is a pleasure to commend a volume of such 
marked excellence. Warren A. Candler. 

Atlanta, Ga., April 15, 1922. 


CONTENTS 


Page 

Foreword. 5 

Introduction. 7 

Chapter I 

The Land of the Pharaohs. 11 

Chapter II 

The World’s Most Venerable Monuments. 18 

Chapter III 

Where Glorious Civilizations Once Flourished. 35 

Chapter IV 

“The Pearl of Egypt”. 54 

Chapter V 

On the Trail of Moses. 60 

Chapter VI 

On Southern Seas. 71 

Chapter VII 

Abraham’s Homeland. 75 

Chapter VIII 

By the Ancient Rivers. 84 

Chapter IX 

Babylon the Fallen.100 

Chapter X 

Bagdad: The City of the Caliphs.117 

Chapter XI 

Up the Tigris.123 


( 9 ) 
















10 


Dust and Ashes of Empires 

Chapter XII 

Nineveh, “That Great City”.134 

Chapter XIII 

On the Trail of Abraham.142 

Chapter XIV 

Across the Syrian Desert.161 

Chapter XV 

Aleppo and the Orontes Valley.165 

Chapter XVI 

The Lebanons and the Syrian Coast.180 

Chapter XVII 

Damascus: A Paradise in the Desert.195 

Chapter XVIII 

Bashan and Galilee.203 

Chapter XIX 

Esdraelon, Sharon, and Sorek.211 

Chapter XX 

The Holy City.224 

Chapter XXI 

Round about Jerusalem.. .249 

Chapter XXII 

Tut-Ankh-Amen.273 













DUST AND ASHES OF EMPIRES 


CHAPTER I 

The Land of the Pharaohs 

On each side of the Strait of Gibraltar is a high 
mountain. The one on the African coast rises from 
a promontory of the mainland itself and is only a few 
hundred yards from the other one, which rises from 
the waters off the Spanish coast, a jagged rock, 
forming the world’s greatest fortress. These two 
were to the ancients the Pillars of Hercules, and to 
that world there was "nothing beyond.” No man 
dared to venture beyond the confines of this land¬ 
locked sea—land-locked save for this narrow strait— 
and no one dared to negotiate the unknown world 
outside of these narrows. Within this inclosure was 
the world of the long ago. Later years saw the 
development of Italy as a center of her civilizations; 
but with all of the grandeur of the mighty Caesars, 
they never succeeded in eclipsing the glory of the 
more ancient Mediterranean world. From a point 
on the northeast shore near the present city of 
Beirut, circling across the desert to the east, and 
dropping down around the southeast corner of the 
sea, you have a small half circle, a little bellied on 
the east side, which forms the "Near East”—not 
only the cradle of the Semitic race, but of our own 
civilization. To this country we owe the earliest 
use of metal, the earliest knowledge of navigation on 
salt water, the development of agriculture and of 



12 Bust and Ashes of Empires 

domestic animals, the art of writing, literature, 
architecture, art, ethics, and religion; so that as we 
sail through the straits between the Pillars of Her¬ 
cules we face backward into the dim shadows of the 
past, shadows out of which rise all that is worth 
while in the present. 

Passing through Italy, the home of the Caesars, 
we have no intimation of that ancient glory except 
from the piles of ruined palaces and where the ever- 
belching Vesuvius has preserved for us the mighty 
glory of Pompeii and Herculaneum. A mere specter 
of the once splendid civilization, Italy stands to-day 
in pitiable contrast to her ancient self. Her beauti¬ 
ful Adriatic bears us onward toward our destination. 
Sailing out once more onto the Mediterranean, we at 
length come in sight of Alexandria, lying like a pearl 
over the blue-green waters of her bay. Perhaps more 
colors are to be seen in the waters of the Bay of 
Alexandria than in any other place in the world. 

What strange emotions stir the heart as one first 
catches sight of the shore lines of Egypt! How much 
that name means to the world, and what stories and 
dreams it conjures up! The desert first comes into 
view, as it piles its sands down to the very water's 
edge west of the city, with here and there a scrub 
palm struggling for existence near the water's brink. 
We then set foot on the soil of the land of the Pha¬ 
raohs, and are met by a group of motley beggars, 
guides, and porters, who suggest anything but 
Pharaoh or the remnant of the long-lost glory of the 
Pharaohs. The meeting of these vultures of the sea¬ 
ports is conducive neither to good temper nor good 
morals, and murder easily suggests itself to the mind. 


The Land of the Pharaohs 13 

But at last we are here and with a purpose to make 
a scientific survey of all the monuments of the Near 
East, beginning with Egypt. We are the American 
Scientific Mission, organized by Dr. J. H. Breasted, 
of the University of Chicago, who is our director. 
The other members of the party are Dr. D. D. Luck- 
enbill, of the University of Chicago; Mr. Ludlow S. 
Bull, of New York City; Mr. W. F. Edgerton, of 
Philadelphia; and the author. 

Our first task was to survey the Nile valley, which 
we did from Alexandria to Shellal at the First Cata¬ 
ract, seven miles above the important city of Assuan. 

No country has been able to develop independent 
of a river, and this is especially true of those countries 
which lie over against the great deserts. And all the 
more true, necessarily so, in the ancient world, when 
the method of travel was not such as to justify men 
in taking the risks of long journeys away from known 
water courses; and so practically all travel routes 
followed some water course. In such a land as Egypt, 
a rainless country, all water came from the Nile, its 
one river; and, in fact, Egypt is a vast desert of 
hopeless sand rescued from its native condition by 
this wonderful river, which brings a tremendous 
volume of water from the highlands of Central 
Africa. Away up near the Congo, where it rains 
much, this stream has its birth and makes its way 
to Khartum, after which it fights through desert 
and granite barrier for a distance of nineteen hundred 
miles, until at last it comes to empty its waters into 
the sea. The whole length of the Nile is said to be 
four thousand and thirty-seven miles, and for the 
last nineteen hundred miles it has no intake, but a 


14 Dust and Ashes of Empires 

great demand upon its supply from evaporation, 
percolation, and irrigation. And yet it brings enough 
water down to sail large vessels all the way from the 
mouth at Alexandria to the First Cataract at Assuan, 
a distance of six hundred and seventy-eight miles. 
Not only does this river water the land which it 
rescues from the desert, but also fertilizes it; for no 
better fertilizer can be found in the world than the 
silt from the river and canal beds brought down by 
the inundation. The natives are constantly seen 
taking up the silt from the canal beds and scattering 
it over their farms. The river begins rising about 
August 1, after the rainy season of July, in the terri¬ 
tory about the headwaters. By September 1, or a little 
earlier, the land is almost covered with water. All the 
canals are full, and this continues for two or- three 
months before it finally regains its normal volume. 
There are gauges, called Nilometers, along the river 
which have been in use from earliest times. The 
amount of silt brought down is so great that new terri¬ 
tory is constantly being formed in the bay at Alexan¬ 
dria and at the mouth of the other arms of the river 
farther to the east. Perhaps during the millenniums 
all of the delta has been thus formed. 

A few years ago British engineers undertook 
successfully the building of a dam at the First Cata¬ 
ract, above Assuan. It is the largest dam in the 
world, being one and a fourth miles long, built of 
red granite brought from the overhanging cliffs. It 
is from forty feet wide at the top to one hundred and 
fourteen feet wide at the bottom. The maximum 
depth is eighty-eight feet, and it forms a lake one 
hundred and eighty-five miles long and has reclaimed 


15 


The Land of the Pharaohs 

between five hundred thousand and six hundred 
thousand acres of land and serves to regulate the 
water supply for all Egypt, inasmuch as it keeps its 
one hundred and eighty sluice gates closed when the 
Nile is low and opens them when it is high. The 
lake is highest when the Nile is lowest and when water 
is most needed. 

The valley differs in width from nothing, where 
the sand of the desert piles in from both sides, to 
several miles, as at Baliano, where it is perhaps eight 
miles wide, and on down to the delta, with varying 
widths. The delta is a fan-shaped district, measur¬ 
ing from Alexandria to Cairo about one hundred and 
thirty miles, and thirty-five miles wide at its widest 
point. The silt soil here is very deep, and it is per¬ 
haps the most fertile in all the world. Cotton, cane, 
durra, beans, barley, wheat, clover, onions, vege¬ 
tables in general, and many other things are raised; 
and besides feeding the natives, they form also a 
large export. The live stock consists of camels, 
donkeys, water buffalo, cows, a few sheep, goats, and 
a very few horses. The fellahin, or lowest class of 
natives, form about ninety-eight per cent of the 
population. They are a miserable lot, living in huts 
built of sun-dried brick, mud, reeds, or in some cases 
living in tombs and rarely in tents. They do the 
hard work and receive little for it, just as they have 
always done. The other two per cent of the people 
are those who can read and are called “effendi,” 
wearing red fezzes to distinguish them from the com¬ 
mon herd. These are a lazy lot, lying around the 
coffeehouses all day, discussing politics and demand¬ 
ing self-government. The land yields immense 


16 Dust and Ashes of Empires 

treasures, and the effendi are usually quite well-to- 
do, though they never do anything to earn what they 
get. The population of Egypt is given as approxi¬ 
mately thirteen million. The British government 
holds a mandate over them, but allows them as much 
freedom of action as possible. 

The principal cities of Egypt are Alexandria and 
Cairo. Alexandria has about four hundred thousand 
population and is one of the two great seaports of 
Egypt. It was founded in 331 B.C. by Alexander 
the Great and was greatly embellished by Ptolemy 
Philadelphus, who made it a great center of learning, 
erecting here a library which was said to contain as 
many as nine hundred thousand rolls, or volumes. 
He was a great patron of learning and drew many 
notable scholars to his capital. It was here under his 
patronage that the Scriptures were first translated 
into another language, when Alexandrian Jews 
translated them from the Hebrew to the Greek. The 
modern city has a fine museum of Greek and Roman 
remains, and near the center of the city stands what 
is known as Pompey’s Pillar, a beautiful monolith, 
standing eighty-eight feet high, and was perhaps one 
of several which formed a colonnade of the famous 
Serapeum in the long ago. This city was the 
scene of many notable historical events of Greek 
and Roman days. 

Cairo is the largest city of all the Near East, having 
about seven hundred thousand population. It is at 
the handle of the open fan, a term used to describe 
the shape of the delta, and it has sometimes been 
called the diamond stud on the handle of the fan. 
It is of great antiquity, being the traditional site of 


17 


The Land of the Pharaohs 

the battle of the gods, Set and Horns, in the long ago 
of Egyptian religious tradition. Its greatest glory 
was during the days of the caliphs, and they embel¬ 
lished it with many mosques, some of which are per¬ 
haps the most beautiful in the world. It has a won¬ 
derful citadel, which lies just under the Mokattam 
hills and back of three mosques, the Alabaster, the 
Blue, and the Mosque of Sultan Hassan. The latter 
bears on its south wall a number of cannon balls, 
sticking in the wall and fired by the artillery of 
Napoleon Bonaparte in his siege of the city in 1798. 
Near here is the cemetery with the tombs of the 
Mamelukes and the tombs of the Caliphs, famous 
monuments of that age. It contains a great museum, 
the largest museum of antiquities in the whole world. 
In fact, it is a great building so full that it has enough 
stuff on the outside lying about to furnish another 
museum of antiquities greater than any other in the 
world. Within these halls repose the survivals of the 
most glorious civilization the earth has ever sup¬ 
ported—statues great and small, sarcophagi, tomb 
furniture, fragments of temples, jewelry enough in 
quantity and quality to grace the greatest court of 
this century, literature in the form of stele and 
papyrus, working tools and war implements of the 
long ago, the bodies of the great kings who ruled the 
land, and other things too numerous to mention. 
I think the most impressive things one sees in this 
museum are the mummies of such men as Rameses 
II., Thothmes III., Merneptah of the Exodus, and 
others. 

2 


CHAPTER II 

The World's Most Venerable Monuments 

Of all the objects of interest about Cairo the great¬ 
est are the pyramids, the grandest monuments of all 
the ages and of all civilizations. How wonderfully 
impressive they are, sitting there on the edge of the 
desert, great piles representing at once the greatest 
effort of human genius and the'acme of human 
stupidity, and withal the evidence of the ever¬ 
present consciousness of the immortality of the 
human soul and an attempt to realize that great hope. 
There are five groups of these pyramids in this 
vicinity, the most northerly of which is the Abu 
Roash group. The farthest one south at this point 
is that of Dashur. The oldest is Sakkarah, and the 
one nearest Gizeh is Abusir. But the first interest of 
all travelers is to see the pyramids of Gizeh. Premier 
Clemenceau declined to run for president of France 
when first approached about the matter with the 
excuse that he wanted to see the pyramids of Egypt^ 
once before he died. He got his wish, and I saw him 
there in February. 

In the Gizeh group there are three pyramids— 
Khufu (Cheops), Khafre (Chephren), and Men- 
kure (Mycerinus)—and designated as first, second, 
and third pyramids. These pyramids stand in a row, 
the diagonal of each being in direct line with the 
others. The third, or Pyramid of Mycerinus, is by 
far the smallest of the group, its present perpendicu- 
( 18 ) 


























































































* 



THE SPHINX AND THE GREAT PYRAMID. 

This great monument is a portrait statue of Khafre, the 
builder of the Second Pyramid, which stands just behind the 
Sphinx. 



FROM THE TOP OF THE GREAT PYRAMID, OVER THE 
SECOND PYRAMID, AND INTO THE SANDS 
OF THE SAHARA. 






The World's Most Venerable Monuments 19 

lar height being two hundred and four feet and its 
original height being two hundred and eighteen feet. 
The highest casing of this pyramid was of limestone, 
while the lower part of it was cased with polished red 
granite from Assuan. Also a most valuable contri¬ 
bution to the historical details of pyramid-building 
is the causeway of this one, which still remains in 
almost perfect condition, showing the method by 
which the stones were conveyed from the Nile valley. 
As in the case of all other pyramids, it has its mor¬ 
tuary temple on the east side and next the river. 
There are here, as at the others, the small piles under 
which members of the family were buried. 

The second pyramid, or that of Khafre, stands on 
higher ground than the Great Pyramid and seems 
from" the "desert side to be higher; at present it is 
only two and one-half feet lower, its present height 
being four hundred and forty-seven and one-half 
feet. The most interesting thing about it is the fine 
casing that still remains at the top, the lower casing 
having been removed for building purposes long ago. 

The Pyramid of Cheops (Khufu) stands on the 
very edge of the desert plateau and completely 
overshadows the others; in fact, everything in the 
ancient world pales into the commonplace beside it. 
It originally rose to a height of four hundred and 
eighty-one feet above the level of the plain; but 
centuries ago the top was removed to give standing 
room for those who climbed it, and the stone thus 
removed was used in building the great mosque of 
Sultan Hassan, in Cairo. It is now four hundred and 
fifty feet from base to top, and a pole thirty-one feet 
high is kept on top to show the original height. This 


20 Dust and Ashes of Empires 

great mass covers thirteen acres of ground and is com¬ 
posed of approximately two million three hundred 
thousand stones quarried in the Mokattam Hills, 
directly across the Nile valley and back of Cairo. 
Each of these stones weighs more than two and one- 
half tons. They are all limestone except the larger 
ones in the center over and around the tomb chamber, 
which are of the finest red granite brought down the 
river from Assuan. These stones were transported 
across the Nile valley on rafts during the inundation, 
the rafts following the canals until they reached the 
edge of the desert at a point nearest the place where 
they were to be built into the great pile. From here 
they were dragged up a great causeway built of 
smooth limestones which were carved and inscribed. 
Up this incline plane they were conveyed to the 
workmen. First the plateau was leveled and sub¬ 
terranean passageways, vaults, and chambers were 
made. This preliminary preparation took, according 
to Herodotus, ten years, using the full quota of men. 
The number of men, according to the traditions 
during Herodotus' day, was one hundred thousand, 
working three months in the year—that is, during 
the inundation, when they could not farm—besides 
the great number of artisans and quarrymen used all 
the year round. One can imagine this great king 
drawing on all the resources of the known world of 
his day. After the plateau and the causeway were 
ready, it then required twenty years more to build 
the pyramid. 

The Greek historian, Herodotus, visited the pyra¬ 
mid in 450 B.C. and gives this account of it: 


The World's Most Venerable Monuments 21 

The pyramid was built in the form of a flight of steps. 
After the workmen had completed the pyramid in this form, 
they raised the other stones used for the incrustation by 
means of machines made of short beams from the ground to 
the first tier of steps; after the stone was placed there, it was 
raised to the second tier by another machine, for there were 
as many machines as there were tiers of steps; or perhaps 
there was but one machine, easily moved, that was raised 
from one tier to another as it was required for lifting the 
stones. The highest part of the pyramid was thus finished 
first (by smoothing). The parts joining were taken next, and 
the lowest part next to the ground was completed last. It 
was recorded on the pyramid in Egyptian writing, how much 
was spent on radishes, onions, and the roots of garlic for dis¬ 
tribution among the workmen; and if I rightly remember 
what the interpreter told me, who read the writing, the money 
they cost amounted to sixteen hundred talents of silver. If 
this were really the cost, how much more must have been spent 
on the iron with which they worked and on the food and cloth¬ 
ing of the workmen. 

Herodotus was always too credulous, but his ac¬ 
count of the cost could hardly have been exaggerated; 
and of course he was imposed on by the guides, just 
as tourists are to-day. 

No guide or any other native can read the hiero¬ 
glyphics to-day, and no man could read them prior to 
one hundred years ago. We cannot yet determine how 
these ancients performed their work so well, for this 
pyramid, built in the thirtieth century before Christ, 
has been examined by the best engineers of the mod¬ 
ern world; and though it is built of such enormous 
stones and these lifted to such a height, the com¬ 
pleted building is found to be so exact in its detail 
that it does not vary on the square of the compass as 
much as one-one hundredth of an inch. The length 
of each side is seven hundred and fifty-six feet, the 


22 Dust and Ashes of Empires 

perpendicular height is four hundred and eighty-one 
feet, the height of each sloping side is six hundred and 
ten feet, and the angle at which the sides arose was 
fifty-one degrees and fifty minutes. The cubic con¬ 
tents of the masonry was three million two hundred 
and twenty-seven thousand cubic yards. According 
to Herodotus, the causeway up which these gigantic 
stones were dragged was ten hundred and seventeen 
yards long, forty-eight feet high at the highest 
places, and sixty feet broad, and its remains can 
still be seen on the east side of the pyramid. 

At the exact center of the great pile is the chamber 
in which was laid the mummy of the king, and the 
effort to enter this is a most trying experience. You 
enter from the thirteenth tier of stones from the bot¬ 
tom, forty-nine feet above the foundation on the 
perpendicular; the passageway is three feet and four 
inches by three feet and eleven inches, and descends 
for one hundred and six and one-half yards on an 
angle of twenty-six degrees and forty-one minutes; 
then up a very slippery passage for forty-one yards 
into a high hallway, which is itself one of the marvels 
of the pyramid. It is one hundred and fifty-five 
feet long, twenty-eight feet high, three feet four 
inches wide at the bottom, and a little more than six 
feet wide at the top. It is built of the finest Mokat- 
tam limestone and is so well laid that not even a 
needle point could be inserted between the joints. 
How they ever constructed such splendid masonry 
so far away from the light of day and under such 
straitened conditions is hard to fathom. It may be, 
of course, that this work was done before the top 
of the pyramid was put on, but even then it would be 


The World's Most Venerable Monuments 23 


no easy task. From this great hall you pass into a 
horizontal passage twenty-two feet long which ex¬ 
pands into an anteroom of the tomb chamber itself. 
All this journey into the very heart of the pyramid 
is made over a wet, slippery pavement, through the 
narrow passages and to the tune of loathsome bats’ 
wings. When this passage was made, in order to foil 
tomb robbers, granite portcullises were dropped in 
behind the returning men who had conveyed the 
mummy into its resting place. When the robbers 
came to these they could not dig through them; so 
they dug around them, and through these very small 
holes around the granite barriers one must drag his 
body with a feeling that he may not quite make it and 
be left hanging in there far from the outside world. 
Within the king’s chamber one breathes with more 
freedom, especially after he finds that it has two air 
passages leading out to the top of the pyramid. The 
sides of the room on the north and on the south are 
seventeen feet in length, while the east and west 
sides are thirty-four and one-half feet each, and the 
height is nineteen feet. The roof is formed of enor¬ 
mous slabs of granite, measuring eighteen and one- 
half feet in length, above which five mysterious 
chambers have been found, the two uppermost con¬ 
taining the name of Khufu. It has been suggested 
that these were intended to strengthen the roof of 
the tomb chamber. This great central chamber, 
entirely lined with granite beautifully joined to¬ 
gether and whose floor is one hundred and thirty- 
nine and one-half feet above the level of the plain, 
contains nothing now but the empty stone sarcoph¬ 
agus, much mutilated and bearing no inscriptions. 


24 Dust and Ashes of Empires 

How vain are the attempts of man to fight remorseless 
time and try to preserve the frail human form in an 
effort to seize upon that most priceless of all boons, 
immortality! The great pile stands and probably will 
stand until time is no more, but the body of the vain 
and selfish old king who built it has long since fallen 
a prey to vultures, jackals, or natural decay. There 
are other chambers—one directly below the king's 
chamber, which has often been referred to as that 
of the queen; but her pyramid has been found at 
another place. This was likely the king's chamber 
at a time when the idea was to build a much smaller 
pyramid, and this was the center of that one; but as 
the old king lived on, he increased the pile, continuing 
to build as long as he lived. There is also a passage 
which leads downward for a distance of two hundred 
and ninety-three feet, ending in a horizontal corridor 
thirty-seven feet long. There are still more of these, 
about which there is much speculation and little 
knowledge. 

From the top of this monumental pile a splendid 
view is to be had. To the east are the Mokattam 
Hills and the beautiful city of Cairo, with the eastern 
desert and Heliopolis beyond. At our feet is the long 
line of trees flanking the paved roadway, built for the 
visit of Napoleon III., and which leads from the foot 
of the pyramid to the very gates of Cairo—Cairo 
with its wonderful citadel and its many graceful 
minarets, the green Nile valley seamed with canals; 
to the north the ancient pyramids of Abu Roash; 
to the south the Sahure and Sakkarah and Dashur 
groups; to the west the awful Sahara with its billows 
of sand ever rolling inward as if to baffle any attempt 



AT THE TOP OF THE GREAT PYRAMID. 
Mr. Edgerton and the author. 



THE MOSQUE OF THE SULTAN HASSAN, CAIRO. 

The black spots on the wall are cannon balls fired by the 
artillery of Napoleon Bonaparte, in 1798, when he captured 
Cairo. The mosque to the right is the Alabaster Mosque, the 
most famous of all mosques. 



























The World’s Most Venerable Monuments 25 

to expose to the profane gaze of modern men the re¬ 
mains of the glorious civilizations which lie buried 
here. 

The greatest of the pyramid temples is that of the 
Khafre, or the second pyramid. It is a splendid 
granite structure built down near the level of the 
Nile valley, or, if not near, much lower down than 
the platform on which the pyramids themselves are 
built. It is of the finest red granite from Assuan. 
The comers are carved rather than joined and it is 
a very fine bit of workmanship. Alongside of this, 
and just a little back, is the Sphinx, the most imposing 
of all ancient statuary. It is hewn out of the solid 
rock, which formed part of the plateau on which the 
pyramids are built and continues to form part of that 
plateau, but so low down as to be continually sanding 
up. The hill was not entirely sufficient to make the 
likeness, so it was reenforced by masonry, and when 
complete was the portrait of King Khafre, the builder 
of the second pyramid. Perhaps the natural likeness 
to a lion suggested to the workmen, as they labored 
far above it on the pyramid itself, the building of 
a portrait statue of the king. It was afterwards 
taken for an image of the sun god and worshiped as 
such, its original purpose having been forgotten. 
It was a huge thing, sixty-six feet high and one hun¬ 
dred and eighty-seven feet long. The length of the 
nose is five feet and seven inches, while the ear 
measures four and one-half feet and the breadth of 
the face is thirteen feet and eight inches. The head 
is quite modern, in that it has a hollow in it. It has 
suffered violence from earthquake, from the fanati¬ 
cal zeal of the Mameluke iconoclasts, been used for a 


26 Dust and Ashes of Empires 

target, fallen a prey to British vandals (who took 
away to the British Museum the beard, headdress, 
and other things); and yet, in spite of all this, it re¬ 
mains the most impressive figure in all the world. 
Again and again it has been covered with sand, and 
has been excavated many times, One prince of the 
fifteenth century before Christ records in the temple 
how he uncovered it; but as often as it is laid bare, 
it finds itself a prey to the ever-incoming sands of 
the desert, and even now its base is twenty feet 
beneath the sand. Here it sits at the foot of the 
great pyramids, on the edge of the Nile valley, looking 
across that valley and watching its changes as it has 
watched them for nearly fifty centuries, over it the 
silent pyramids, back of it the pitiless Sahara, in 
front the green valley, and stretching far back into 
history it has watched, a gaunt specter of forgotten 
civilizations. 

About twenty miles south of the Gizeh group of 
pyramids are two other groups of great interest. 
Abusir, the first of these, is not the oldest, but shows 
perhaps the highest indication of civilization to be 
found along the Nile or in the ancient world. These 
pyramids were built by the kings of the fifth dynasty 
(about 2800 B.C.). The main pyramid was origi¬ 
nally about one hundred and sixty-three feet high, 
with sloping sides two hundred and fifty-seven feet, 
and was fronted by a splendid temple, lying as usual 
on the east side and whose ruins indicate a splendor 
hardly equaled in a period so ancient. A large 
colonnaded court, with black basalt pavement and 
sixteen palm columns of granite, originally sup¬ 
ported the roof of the court. This court was joined 


The World’s Most Venerable Monuments 27 

by a transverse room and another with five recesses, 
in which stood statues of the king. Storerooms, 
treasuries, and many other rooms are indicated in the 
debris of this temple. Perhaps the most interesting 
thing found here was twelve hundred feet of copper 
drain pipe which seems to have formed a sewer 
system. There was also found a copper plug which 
looked like the stopper to a bath tub, but some have 
doubted the authenticity of this. On the walls of 
this remarkable temple is found the earliest sur¬ 
viving record of seagoing ships, in which a voyage is 
described to the Phoenician coast, from which the 
king, Sahure, brought back Semitic Syrians—the 
earliest known representation of these people. We 
have here also another account of how this fleet 
went to Punt (Ophir) and brought back many things 
of interest, including fragrant gums, incense, and 
ointments. The king describes the land of Punt as 
“ God’s land/’ There are at least three other 
pyramids in this group. 

The pyramid of Sakkarah, built by King Zoser 
probably earlier than 3000 B.C., stands out in the 
desert, in the midst of a necropolis containing the 
remains of tombs representing almost every age of 
Egyptian history down to and including the convent 
of St. Jeremiah, founded in the second half of the 
fifth century A.D. and destroyed by the Arabs in 
960 A.D. The Step pyramid, as the Zoser monu¬ 
ment is sometimes called, consists of six stages, the 
lowest of which is thirty-seven and one-half feet in 
height, the second thirty-six feet, the third thirty- 
four and one-half feet, the fourth thirty-two and 
one-half feet, the fifth thirty and three-fourths feet, 


28 Dust and Ashes of Empires 

and the sixth twenty-nine feet, and each stage re¬ 
ceding six and one-half feet. The perpendicular 
height is about two hundred feet and the whole is 
built of inferior limestone quarried in the neighbor¬ 
hood. 

This is the oldest stone structure known to man¬ 
kind and is supposed to have been built in stages, so 
that in case the king died it could be stopped at that 
point, but as long as he lived he could still build on. 
When one thinks of the great antiquity of this great 
pile, it becomes all the more wonderful and awe-in¬ 
spiring as the mighty effort of a great man who lived 
far back toward the childhood of the race. 

Zoser, the builder of this mighty monument, was 
the first of the great kings whose history we know. 
His capital was Memphis, and he firmly established 
his government and extended his supremacy, stilling 
the turbulent tribes beyond the First Cataract, 
exploiting the copper mines in Sinai, and completing 
the great building operations. But back of every 
great political leader and builder is some other man 
who deals in thought and the processes of intellect, 
producing the ideas and ideals by which the public 
man is guided. So it is with Zoser, for he had in his 
kingdom and by his side as an adviser the first great 
wise man of whom we know anything, and his name 
was Imhotep. Great in priestly wisdom and magic, 
speaking many proverbs, knowing medicine and, 
supremely, architecture, he was perhaps the one who 
planned all of these great buildings which bear only 
the name of the king. He is remembered on many 
monuments as the patron of scribes and the one to 
whom they ever poured libations before beginning 


The World’s Most Venerable Monuments 29 

their writings. Centuries later his proverbs were still 
quoted, and millenniums afterwards he became the 
Egyptain god of medicine. 

This same king must have also embellished Mem¬ 
phis, that most ancient known capital, which lay- 
just a little way in the valley from the desert sands 
amid which stand the pyramid and other remains 
of that great necropolis. Near the pyramid stands 
the old house of Auguste Mariette, the distinguished 
Frenchman who did so much for Egyptian excavation 
and who discovered the Serapeum, the strangest of 
all remains. It lies only just below the level of the 
sands and once had a very imposing temple above it. 
It is a system of chambers, aggregating a length of 
three hundred and eighty yards, a width of ten feet, 
and a height of seventeen and one-half feet. Passing 
through these subterranean chambers one is pro¬ 
foundly impressed with their former magnificence 
and splendor. 

Twenty-four of these chambers contain huge 
sarcophagi, each hewn from a single block of black 
or red granite, transported from the First Cataract, 
and highly polished. Each was thirteen feet long, 
seven feet wide, eleven feet high, and weighed at 
least sixty-five tons; and each of these wonderful 
caskets contained, not the body of a man, but the 
mummy of a bull, the most sacred animal of Egypt 
for many centuries. How strange that such a won¬ 
derful people, who showed such highly civilized ideas 
in other ways, should bow down to and erect such 
glorious temples to a common animal! Mariette, 
when he discovered this remarkable tomb, said: 


30 Dust and Ashes of Empires 

I confess that when I penetrated for the first time, on No¬ 
vember 12, 1851, into the Apis vaults, I was so profoundly 
struck with astonishment that the feeling is still fresh in my 
mind, although five years have elapsed since then. Owing to 
some change which is difficult to account for, a chamber which 
had been walled up in the thirtieth year of Rameses II. had 
escaped the notice of the plunderers of the vaults, and I was 
so fortunate as to find it untouched. Although thirty-seven 
hundred years had elapsed since it was closed, everything in 
the chamber seemed to be precisely in its original condition. 
The finger marks of the Egyptian who had inserted the last 
stone in the wall built to conceal the doorway were still recog¬ 
nizable on the lime. There were also the prints of naked feet 
imprinted on the sand which lay in the corner of the tomb 
chamber. Everything was in the original condition in this 
tomb, where the embalmed remains of the bull had lain undis¬ 
turbed for thirty-seven centuries. 

Still more interesting is the tomb of the grandee 
and wealthy landowner, Ti, who lived and flourished 
in the fifth dynasty (2800 B.C.). This tomb, which 
lies out in the deep sand, once stood partly above the 
desert, but is now completely covered. The finest 
of old Egyptian art, as well as the most valuable 
historical documents and splendid detail of social 
life, is exhibited in the mural reliefs on its walls. 
Long corridors, wonderful chambers, and fine col¬ 
umns, marvelously inscribed and colored, depicting 
episodes of everyday life just as they must have hap¬ 
pened in the course of a day and many days, on the 
plantation of this wonderful man in the long ago— 
royal scenes and religious motives, killing sacri¬ 
fices, farming, harvest scenes, fattening fowls, cook¬ 
ing, milking, plowing, driving cattle through water, 
shipbuilding, sailing ships, offices of the estate, 
court scenes, fishing, hunting, playing with dogs and 


The World's Most Venerable Monuments 31 

apes, peasant women with offerings, the noble going 
hunting in the marshes of the Nile, with birds' nests 
filled with young and disturbed by civet cats, with 
fish and water animals under the boat—and in all the 
scenes a flavor of life that is inescapable, with delicate 
touches of humor and some touches of humor not so 
delicate. It is a most interesting situation, and is 
especially so when the surroundings are taken into 
account. Here we are traveling across the deep 
sands of the Sahara, when we come upon this hole in 
the sand and go in. All around us is desolation; no 
life exists in the immediate vicinity, and we go in 
from the region of the silence of death and walk back 
to a time forty-seven hundred years ago and live and 
love and laugh with them of that day. Other tombs 
are about, but there are none so fascinating as this 
one. 

The old city of Memphis is, or was, located in a 
grove of date palms—the oldest trees known in these 
regions, for the inscriptions never get back of them. 
It was one of the few ancient cities lying in the Nile 
valley within the area of inundation. Dr. Fisher, 
head of the University of Pennsylvania Expedition, 
is excavating the ruins. He goes down through two 
later cities and finds Memphis under water, so the 
excavation is very difficult. But he is uncovering 
the city which was the capital of Egypt before the 
pyramids were built and was perhaps the first capital 
of united Egypt. 

For many millenniums there were two kingdoms— 
Upper Egypt and Lower Egypt. And the designa¬ 
tion holds to this day as a means of locating geo¬ 
graphical lines. The earliest king about whom we 


32 Dust and Ashes of Empires 

know anything definitely, Menes, wore the symbol of 
both kingdoms—that is, the crown of united Egypt. 
And an earlier king shows the conquest of one king¬ 
dom by the other. This is Narmar, who on one side of 
a palette is seen wearing the single crown and on the 
other is wearing the double crown, while following be¬ 
hind is a procession of celebrants. This seems to indi¬ 
cate the time when the two lands were joined to¬ 
gether. Perhaps it was under Menes that Memphis 
really became the center of government. It was 
called “The White Walls,” and the capital was 
moved here in order to set up the government 
nearer the boundary between the old kingdom of 
Upper Egypt and that of Lower Egypt. It was 
perhaps Lower Egypt that conquered Upper Egypt, 
and so the tribes of Upper Egypt would be the ones 
to rebel, and the presence of the king here would 
pacify them. From this time to the latest history 
of Egypt Memphis continued to have some connec¬ 
tion with the government. The center was often 
moved, and much of the time was elsewhere. But 
a long line of kings lavished wealth to embellish this 
ancient seat of royalty. 

There is a tradition that Menes, the first historical 
king of Egypt, built the White Walls. This was 
somewhere near 3400, and from then until Christian 
times it continued. Even as late as the twelfth cen¬ 
tury A.D. the Caliph Abdallatif describes the ruins 
as they stood in his day as “ a profusion of wonders that 
bewilder the mind and baffle description.” Most of 
these ruins were removed in later times to build the 
mosques of Cairo. There has been found in the ruins 
a great alabaster sphynx twenty-six feet long, four- 


The World's Most Venerable Monuments 33 

teen feet high, and weighing eighty tons. It has not 
yet been identified. It was discovered in 1912. It 
is in a perfect state of preservation and is the largest 
sphynx known to have been transported. 

Amid the date palm trees lie two colossi, portrait 
statues of Rameses 11. One of them is made of granite 
and is thirty-two and one-half feet high. It was 
found in 1888. The other one, which is of fine 
grained limestone and forty-two feet high, was found 
in 1820. It is of the finest workmanship and is per¬ 
haps the best portrait of Rameses, worked out with 
the greatest skill and detail. These two statues stood 
at the gateway of the great temple. 

About five miles south of Sakkarah, through an 
almost unbroken line of ruined pyramids, lie the im¬ 
posing pyramids of Dashur, the first of which is al¬ 
most as large as that of Cheops. Built of stone, three 
hundred and twenty-five feet high and seven hun¬ 
dred and nine feet wide, it is said to have been built 
by Snefru about 3000 B.C. Farther down there are 
a number of brick pyramids, one of which is that of 
Sesostris III., of the twelfth dynasty. There are a 
number of other pyramids scattered over Egypt, 
colossal atempts to defeat the tooth of time and defy 
decay and annihilation and so realize immortality. 
In all of this it was necessary for these kings to be ex¬ 
ceedingly selfish and to assume a nature that was 
more exalted and divine than that of ordinary man; 
and so social distinction was developed and fostered 
until the very thing that led them on and the method 
by which they tried to realize their ideal became the 
cause of their downfall and the decay of their mighty 
empires. And empires of every age have had to learn 
3 


34 Dust and Ashes of Empires 

that no nation is stronger than the social condition 
of its people. 

One cannot but admire the fierce craving for 
immortality that revealed itself in such tremendous 
industry and such splendid achievements even in so 
undeveloped an age as that. Perhaps no less a motive 
than that of a desire for immortality could have pro¬ 
duced such a result. But how futile was the effort, for 
long, long ago their bodies were desecrated and most¬ 
ly disappeared. It is indeed pitiable to look upon 
a small fragment of the mummy of the great Unus, 
or Onis, who built in these sands a splendid pile to 
preserve his body; and yet all that remains reposes 
alongside of another mummy in the museum in 
Cairo, not important enough to have a case for itself. 
But all of this exhibits a high state of civilization and 
even of thought, at least in comparison with the age 
in which they lived, a civilization which challenges 
our highest admiration and which teaches a lesson 
that a later one might do well to read. 


CHAPTER III 

Where Glorious Civilizations Once Flourished 

As one travels up the Nile by boat or train, he is 
deeply impressed by the sight of the remains of an¬ 
cient civilizations everywhere—pyramids, great 
walls, mounds, sightly columns and stately temples, 
standing in splendid ruin, speaking of bygone ages, 
of a people that conquered the world and loved art 
and architecture and literature and gilded cities, but 
who forgot something that left a leak in the dikes, 
finally broke the dam, completely dissipated all the 
accumulated and developed products of human 
intellect, and so lost to the world the high place of 
achievement attained by that civilization. 

One hundred and eighty-eight miles above Cairo 
lies the little village of Deir Mawas; and from here to 
the village of Beni Amran, or the ancient Amarna, 
are to be found the remains of the most unique civ¬ 
ilization known to history. In 1375 B.C., in the 
city of Thebes, Amenophis IV. ascended the throne 
of the Pharaohs and inherited the palaces, temples, 
and gods of his fathers. The chief god was Amon, 
and the priests of that cult were all-powerful and 
formed a hierarchy that was dominant in State and 
society. From this orthodox and powerful hierarchy, 
intrenched in State and in the emotions of the people, 
this new monarch dared to rebel with a revolution 
unparalleled in its suddenness and completeness. 
There remains to us no intimation as to the steps 

(35) 


36 Dust and Ashes of Empires 

that led up to this remarkable change. With a zeal 
akin to fanaticism, characterized by a mad fury that 
chiseled out the name of Amon from every temple 
and palace that could be reached (not exempting the 
name of his own father, nor indeed his own name, 
for he changed that from Amenophis to Ikhnaton), 
he abandoned the capital of his ancestors, moved 
down here, and built a sacred city, in which he de¬ 
veloped the fine arts to a marvelous degree. Litera¬ 
ture reached its highest form in the ancient world, 
and ethics approached almost to the heights of the 
Christian conception. His theology was a pure 
monotheism, and his god was a personality. True, 
he worshiped the sun; but that sun became a living 
one that reached down and gave life to the king and 
to all things on earth. His hymn to Aton has been 
compared to the one hundred and fourth Psalm. 
God rules the world in love and solitude. He de¬ 
mands justice and righteousness in the hearts of 
men. 

“Thy dawning is beautiful in the horizon of the heaven, 

O living Aton, Beginning of life! 

When thou risest in the eastern horizon of heaven, 

Thou fillest every land with thy beauty; 

For thou art beautiful, great, glittering, high over the earth; 

Thy rays encompass the lands, even all thou hast made. 

Thou art Re, and thou hast carried them all away captive; 

Thou bindest them by thy love. 

Though thou art afar, thy rays are on earth; 

Though thou art on high, thy footprints are the day.” 1 

The poem is long and wonderfully beautiful, show¬ 
ing a very high state of mind for that period. Some 

translation by Dr. J. H. Breasted, “A History of Egypt.” 



Where Glorious Civilizations Once Flourished 37 

of the finest sculptures are found in the ruins of this 
city, while the wall decorations are unsurpassed any¬ 
where. Under this ethical dreamer and idealist the 
land at home prospered, but the empire suffered 
much. He had no heart for foreign conquest, nor 
indeed for war, and he allowed the Asiatic posses¬ 
sions, bought at a dear price by his fathers, to fall 
away from Egypt. This brought many protests 
from the foreign governors, who found themselves 
abandoned by the central government and an easy 
prey to revolution and conquest. 

These protests, written in the Babylonian writing, 
were received by Amenophis, who laid them up in 
his archives along with those of his father, forming a 
large body of diplomatic correspondence between 
Amenophis III. and IV. and the kings of Asia, the 
governors of foreign provinces, and others. This 
correspondence he filed away in a house provided for 
the purpose. In 1888 an old woman was digging 
away the walls of this sun-baked brick house, using 
the bricks to fertilize her cabbages, when she dis¬ 
covered some strange characters on some of them; 
and having found out that such curious things would 
sell, she promptly offered them to tourists. An 
archaeologist came along, bought them, and loaded 
them on a camel in somewhat the fashion a boy takes 
a bag of corn to mill, the result being that when they 
reached Cairo many of them were broken and some 
of them had gone to dust. Those that survived were 
promptly pronounced spurious by the Frenchman 
who was then director of the museum at Cairo. They 
were then sold to dealers, who disposed of them to 
tourists from all over the world. Two of them found 


38 Dust and Ashes 0 / Empires 

their way into the British Museum, where their real 
worth was discovered. Then a search far and wide 
was instituted, and many of them have been recov¬ 
ered. They were the famous Tel-el-Amarna letters, 
which have opened to us almost millenniums of his¬ 
tory, correcting many things in history and authenti¬ 
cating some of the questioned parts of the Scriptures. 
From these letters the Hittites, known only through 
the Bible, became historical, and since their dis¬ 
covery the citadel of this people and much of their 
civilization have been recovered. Among them are 
letters from the governor of Jerusalem and from 
governors of almost all of the Palestinian and Syrian 
cities. The city was not occupied for more than 
fifty years, and yet it has left most glorious remains. 
As soon as Ikhnaton was dead the old Amon hier¬ 
archy prevailed, Thebes once more became the 
capital, and this city was entirely abandoned and 
never occupied again. The great king's name was 
ever afterwards referred to as “That One" or “That 
Criminal. ” 

One of the larger cities of Egypt is Assuit, two 
hundred and forty-seven miles above Cairo, where 
the valley reaches a maximum width of twelve and 
a half miles. The present population is about forty 
thousand. This was the birthplace of Plotinus, one 
of the greatest of the Neoplatonic philosophers 
(205 A.D.). The inhabitants are now and have al¬ 
ways been trouble makers. 

Thirty-nine miles north of Luxor is the city of 
Baliano, lying in a most fertile section of the Nile 
valley, where the cultivable land is about six miles 
in width. There are large sugar refineries. West of 


Where Glorious Civilizations Once Flourished 39 

the city and on the edge of the desert is the oldest 
known city in the world, Abydos, whose main at¬ 
traction is not the two fine temples, one of Seti I. 
and the other of Rameses II., but its necropolis; for 
Abydos was first the seat of the worship of the dog¬ 
headed god, who was given the title of “The first of 
the inhabitants of the Western Kingdom/' the 
Western Kingdom being the kingdom of the dead. 
But the cult of Osiris, which originated in the Delta, 
soon gained a foothold in Abydos, and here at an 
early date he became the supreme god of the dead 
and the final judge of all. Osiris himself was believed 
to have been buried here, and every one wanted to 
be buried near him; so that when this was not possi¬ 
ble corpses were often sent to be laid near the tomb 
of the god for a little while before being placed per¬ 
manently elsewhere. 

In the white stone temple of Seti I., which is won¬ 
derfully preserved, is a very important inscription 
giving a list of kings from Menes to Seti I., a very 
useful list in determining the chronology of Egypt. 
But long, long before these kings were born a people 
lived in this valley and used this place for a burial 
ground. The whole desert around this ancient city 
is filled with the graves of a people who lived and died 
and were forgotten before the times when the first 
Egyptians came to this most ancient city. Here in 
these graves are the bodies of these prehistoric peo¬ 
ples, preserved by the climate and dry sands. Here 
they lie surrounded by jars, which were once filled 
with wheat and perhaps other provisions for the long 
journey, and also flint weapons and instruments of 
that period of the long ago. One is impressed by the 


40 Dust and Ashes of Empires 

enormous amount of human bones, grinning skulls 
sticking out of the debris, and the great mounds of 
broken pottery. As we walked over the sands of this 
ancient place, we were conscious of a feeling of awe 
in the presence of a civilization so much older than 
recorded history. We spent our time here with a 
feeling of security, which was born of our ignorance 
of the situation; for when we returned to the town, 
we were surrounded by part of the Egyptian army 
and some of the officials, for most of the white men 
who had gone to the place never came away. How¬ 
ever, we convinced them that we were Americans, 
and were not molested again. 

The world's greatest show ground is the city of 
Luxor, called Thebes by the Greeks. The city to¬ 
day has something like twelve to fourteen thousand 
inhabitants, many of whom are in dire straits owing 
to the fact that no tourists have gone there since the 
beginning of the war, and these have always been 
their main source of supplies. In fact, the business 
of extracting a living from tourists is as old as the 
days of Herodotus and perhaps older; and when 
there are no tourists, there is a famine. The city lies 
in the midst of a fertile plain, stretching for two or 
three miles on each side of the river. The Nile is of 
unusual beauty at this point. One crosses the river 
on a small ferryboat, either rowed or sailed by na¬ 
tives. Donkeys are also taken across for use, and 
after a ride of half an hour you are at the hills, which 
form a ridge or rugged plateau, beating back the 
desert and making a broader valley for cultivation. 
This fact, together with the near approach of the 


Where Glorious Civilizations Once Flourished 41 

Red Sea at this point, may account for the selection 
of this site for the powerful capital of the greatest 
dynasties of this great country. Here our party 
really began operations, examining the remains of 
ancient Egypt with care and scientific interest. 

By climbing to the top of these hills one gets the 
finest view of the remains of ancient history; for, 
looking across a field of sugar cane containing five 
hundred acres, one can see the city of Luxor and the 
temple within its bounds which bears its name. The 
city is remembered in Scripture as No Amon and 
came into prominence and power about 2100 B.C. 
during what is known as the Middle Kingdom, but 
was much more ancient in its origin. About the end 
of the fifteenth century Amenophis III. built the 
present temple on the site of a much older sandstone 
structure, parts of which still remain. This was fol¬ 
lowed by many additions, especially by Rameses II. 
in the thirteenth century before Christ and then by 
Alexander the Great, who remodeled a temple for 
himself, and it was probably embellished by the 
Ptolemies. The temple of Amenophis was two hun¬ 
dred and eight yards long and sixty yards broad, 
erected over against a temple by Thutmose III. a 
hundred years earlier in its construction. Glorious 
as was this temple, it fades into insignificance beside 
that of Karnak, which lies about one mile to the 
northeast, at the end of an avenue of ram sphinxes 
sculptured from limestone or sandstone. They are 
stately figures of magnificent workmanship and 
dedicated to the worship of the sun. 

The king's statue was between the knees, and a 
great bronze disc representing the sun was between 


42 Dust and Ashes of Empires 

the horns of each. At the end of this avenue is the 
great temple area of Karnak covering several hun¬ 
dred acres of land and representing many gods in the 
magnificent remains of many temples. These were 
nearly two thousand years in building—from the 
early days of the Middle Kingdom, about the close 
of the third millennium, to the days of the Ptolemies, 
just before the dawning of the Christian Era. There 
were few kings of the land who did not have a part 
in the extension or embellishment of one or more of 
the buildings of this great temple group—one colon¬ 
naded hall after another, pylon after pylon, obelisk 
after obelisk, each monarch trying to outdo his 
predecessors. The first pylon (great gateway) is 
three hundred and seventy feet wide, with walls 
forty-nine feet thick and one hundred and forty-two 
and a half feet high. 

The great court built by the Pharaohs of the tenth 
and ninth centuries before Christ is two hundred and 
seventy-six feet deep and three hundred and thirty- 
eight feet wide and is the finest example of Egyptian 
architecture of that period. But when you examine 
the great hypostyle hall of Rameses II. everything 
else seems uninteresting. This is perhaps the finest 
building erected in ancient times. Its very size is 
impressive. It is three hundred and thirty-eight feet 
broad, with a depth of one hundred and seventy feet, 
and has an area of six thousand square yards. The 
giant roof, part of which is still in place, was sup¬ 
ported by one hundred and thirty-four columns, 
which were arranged in sixteen rows. The two cen¬ 
tral rows are eighty feet high and almost thirty-four 
feet in circumference. The other rows are about 


Where Glorious Civilizations Once Flourished 43 

twenty-seven feet in circumference and less than 
fifty feet high. The difference between the height of 
the central row and the side rows made windows 
possible, and these were covered with stone lattice- 
work. The columns represent papyrus with calyx 
capitals for the central rows and bud capitals for the 
side rows. These are all covered with inscriptions 
and reliefs most wonderfully colored and well pre¬ 
served. Many reliefs of historical value are found 
on these walls, that of Sethos I. describing his cam¬ 
paigns in Palestine and those of Shishak. (See 
Kings xiv. 25, 26; 2 Chronicles xii. 2-4, 9.) But the 
whole scene beggars description and staggers the 
imagination with amazement at the accomplish¬ 
ments of a civilization which must have succeeded 
by a stupendous expenditure of life and labor. 

As you stand on the heights of the hills looking 
across the valley, you turn to look on your right 
hand and there lies the pavement of the palace of 
that great king, Amenophis III., who reigned from 
1411 to 1375 B.C. The palace area covers many 
acres of ground, in front of which is a large embank¬ 
ment a mile long and a thousand feet wide, which 
formed the private lake of the palace and was proba¬ 
bly built for his queen, Ti, whom he had married 
from a somewhat humble station, but whom he 
most devotedly loved, for he signs her name to all 
State documents. When he married her, he sent out 
royal scarabs in honor of the occasion, on which he 
names her as “the daughter of nobody, but the wife 
of a king whose southern boundary is above the 
Second Cataract, and whose northern boundary is 
beyond the Euphrates.” He, moreover, provided 


44 Dust and Ashes of Empires 

for her father and mother in a most extravagant way. 
The costly furniture of their palace was placed in 
their tomb and has been preserved to us. The two 
mummies, with the tomb furniture and gilded coffins, 
are in the museum at Cairo, the most magnificent 
reminders of household luxury remaining to us from 
that glorious civilization. If such splendid furniture 
formed the gift of a man to his wife's relations, what 
must have been the character of his own household 
adornment? 

The remains of this palace are on your extreme 
right, while on the extreme left arise the ruins of the 
temple of Sethos I. at Kurna—a beautiful hall, five 
hundred and eighteen feet by one hundred and fifty- 
four feet, with splendid reliefs and inscriptions. This 
hall was enlarged and embellished by Rameses II. 
and was surrounded by many colonnaded halls and 
chambers, courts and chapels. Behind this is the 
oldest necropolis in the Theban group, that of Drah 
Abu’l Negga, dating back to the eleventh dynasty 
(about 2300 B.C.). Next to this is a cemetery of the 
Saitic period (about 650 B.C.), and from here the 
whole hillside is one vast necropolis containing the 
tombs of nobles, queens, princes, high court officials, 
and other notables of the glorious period of the 
empire. 

The most pretentious of these is known as Der el 
Bahri, the magnificent mortuary temple of the great¬ 
est queen of the ancient world, Hatshepsut. She was 
the legal heir to the throne, but had an ambitious 
and capable half-brother, Thutmose III., who used 
every means in his power to secure the throne. He 
first married Hatshepsut, his half-sister, and then 


Where Glorious Civilizations Once Flourished 45 

became a priest of the popular god Amon; and when 
the great feast took place, during the procession of 
priests a voice out of the holy of holies, professing to 
be the voice of the god, proclaimed that the young 
prince was a son of the gods and chosen by them to 
be king. In spite of all of these political schemes, he 
disappears for several years, and she reigns in splen¬ 
dor and great power. Under her great building 
operations went on; there were also expeditions to 
Punt (Biblical Ophir), from which she brought trees 
of every variety, shrubs, and animals, along with 
gold and silver in abundance. She developed the 
land and the state of society at home, and all of this 
she duly had carved on her tomb and temple walls 
here at our feet. 

Such a temple! It was constructed in terraces and 
with beautiful colonnades and inner chambers, all 
wonderfully adorned with colorful inscriptions and 
reliefs. The magnificent gardens which she formed 
largely from transplanted shrubs and trees brought 
from afar have left their traces to this day. These 
are the first known transplanted trees. The temple 
occupies a place directly under the mountain and 
was no doubt intended to lead to her tomb in the 
heart of the mountain; but that tomb has never been 
found, and it is not unlikely that she was simply dis¬ 
posed of by her brother-husband, who now suddenly 
comes to the front, assumes command of the army, 
and marches off to conquest and the quieting of the 
dependencies, a duty which was necessarily neglected 
by the queen. 

The temple was much marred by the fury of her 
husband, who cut out her name from every inscrip- 


46 Dust and Ashes of Empires 

tion where he could reach one, and still further 
mutilated by the fanatical zeal of Amenophis IV., 
who also cut out the Amon element from all names; 
yet it remains a fine structure, a monument to a 
great woman whose fame cannot be entirely de¬ 
stroyed. In front of it is a costly causeway which 
led straight out to the level of the Nile and was lined 
on both sides by ram sphinxes and trees, the stumps 
of which still remain. A very interesting thing here 
is a room devoted to a description of the land of 
Punt. Here is the Egyptian fleet arriving in the 
harbor of that city and the Prince of Punt coming 
with presents to meet the representative of the great 
queen. Beehive huts built upon piles out in the 
water, also the character of the animals and trees 
brought from there, give us very conclusive evidence 
as to the geographical location of the land where 
King Solomon found gold. Moreover, the queen 
tells us that she sent a statue of herself and of her 
god to be set up in the land of Punt. When that 
country is cleared of dangerous inhabitants and the 
archaeologist can get in to make excavations, there is 
little doubt that Punt will be definitely located; and 
it is not at all unlikely that some remains of the work 
of Solomon’s miners will be found. 

Next beside Der el Bahri is a still older temple, 
more than five centuries older and almost leveled to 
the ground, though much of the foundation remains 
to show what a splendid temple it was. 

• Lying a little way to the south of this is the great 
Pameseum, which was the mortuary temple for the 
ever-present Rameses II. The great pylon in front 
was originally two hundred and twenty feet broad, 


Where Glorious Civilizations Once Flourished 47 

but is now a crumbling mass of ruins. Finely exe¬ 
cuted statues and large courts, magnificent gateways 
and massive walls bespeak a building of unusual size 
and importance. On the walls are the stories of the 
exploits of the king, which of course were told by the 
king or inspired by him and perhaps contain exag¬ 
gerations. The most important of these are the in¬ 
scriptions telling of his Syrian campaigns and espe¬ 
cially of the battle of Kadesh, where he goes into 
detail as to the military tactics; and as this story is 
repeated on these walls, so from the two inscriptions 
we have a complete story of the campaign and the 
record of the treaty of peace, the earliest recorded 
treaty of peace ending a war. 

In the midst of these ruins lies the most colossal 
sculpture ever executed. It is a portrait statue of 
Rameses II. carved out of a single block of red gran¬ 
ite transported from Assuan and weighs approxi¬ 
mately one thousand tons. It stood here in this 
temple, which was intended to perpetuate the memo¬ 
ry of the king's great deeds, and itself intended to 
preserve the king's likeness; the whole being a 
monument to the vanity of the vainest monarch of 
whom history makes any record. To-day it lies on 
its face, broken and grotesquely marred. It was 
undoubtedly a very fine piece of workmanship, for 
even in its present condition it impresses you with 
the artistic skill with which it was done. It is indeed 
colossal. The length of one ear is three and a half 
feet. The surface of the face from ear to ear is over 
six feet. The surface of the breast from shoulder to 
shoulder is twenty-three and a half feet, while the 
circumference of the arm at the elbow is seventeen 


48 Dust and Ashes of Empires 

and a half feet, and the length of the index finger is 
three and a half feet. The length of the nail of the 
middle finger is seven and a half inches, the breadth 
of the foot across the toes is four and a half feet, and 
the total height is fifty-seven feet. But remorseless 
and invincible time was more powerful than this 
great statue. The Rameseum is almost surrounded 
by the ruins of other mortuary temples which have 
mostly disappeared. 

On the right of this, as you stand on the top of the 
hills facing east, is the Ptolemaic temple of Der el 
Medineh, a splendid temple, back of which are the 
tombs of the queens, while one mile south lies the 
temple of Medinet Habu, the main hall of which was 
built by Rameses III. (about 1200 B.C.). This tem¬ 
ple was built on the plan of the Rameseum, but not 
so pretentious, though it is a very great building, 
with fine wall scenes and more or less important in¬ 
scriptions. This also is surrounded by other tem¬ 
ples, the most important of which is one by Thut- 
mose III. and Hatshepsut from the beginning of the 
fifteenth century before Christ. Some distance in 
front of this is the area of the mortuary temple of 
Amenophis III., of which only a few stones and the 
fragments of a stela remain, and these are scattered 
out over the cultivated ground. But in front of this 
area stand two great statues known since Greek days 
as the Memnon statues, one of which used to have 
the reputation of being a singer. It was said to emit 
at daybreak a peculiar musical note, perhaps due to 
the rapid expansion and contraction in a desert cli¬ 
mate. Since an earthquake shook down part of this 






LOOKING OUT THROUGH THE TEMPLE OF LUXOR TO 
THE HILLS OF THE KINGS’ TOMBS, 

THREE MILES AWAY. 



THE GREAT MEMNON STATUES. 

At Thebes or Luxor. The hills of the kings’ tombs in the 
background. 










Where Glorious Civilizations Once Flourished 49 

one, though later the stones were replaced by- 
Septimus Severus, he has refused to sing. 

These immense statues are carved out of a con¬ 
glomerate sandstone found in the vicinity of Edfu 
which is hard to work. They are sixty-four feet high, 
exclusive of the crown, which has vanished, and with 
it must have been sixty-nine feet. The legs from 
the sole of the foot to the knees measure nineteen 
and one-half feet, and each foot is ten and one-half 
feet long. The breadth of the shoulders is twenty 
feet, while the middle finger on one hand is four and 
one-half feet long, and the arm, from the tip of the 
finger to the elbow, is fifteen and one-half feet. 

The emperor Hadrian and his empress visited 
them in 130 A.D. and spent many days with them. 
Sitting out here on the plain, visible for many miles, 
with mountain and desert for background, with a 
foreground of marvelously fertile fields teeming with 
life and activity, they are among the most striking 
monuments of the Nile valley. Here they sit, all 
that went with them having passed away, the silent 
sentinels of the centuries watching the ever-changing 
fortunes of the passing civilizations, keeping guard 
over the valley, reminding the men who pass that 
way of high civilizations reaching back into the dim 
mysteries of the past, and still looking toward the 
unborn centuries with grim determination to resist 
every inroad time attempts to make and realize the 
immortality to which their creator aspired. What a 
valley of wonders it is as we look down from the 
Libyan Hills, our imagination sweeps back the 
curtain of the past, and we live over again the life 
that was! The multitudes come and go. Palaces rise 
4 


50 


Dust and Ashes of Empires 

and temples loom gray against the hills. Kings and 
princes, peasants and soldiers march once more over 
this historic soil. One could almost wish to live in 
that far-away past. 

But if the valley in front is wonderful, it is still 
more so when we turn about and discover that back 
of us, where we thought of only the desert, is a deep 
gorge, or hidden valley; and we descend through 
dangerous and devious ways with a feeling that no 
one ever came this way before, until we come at last 
to catch our breath at the bottom and are suddenly 
confronted with openings in the mountain side, as if 
some Alpine kobold had been constrained by magic 
key-flower to open to us some mysterious treasure 
cave. But, as boldly as the Alpine shepherd lad of 
the story book, we enter one after another of these, 
until we almost wonder if there is room for another 
in the space allotted by these secretive hills to the 
ancient kings for their royal tombs. Here is the 
greatest royal cemetery on earth, the burial ground 
of the mightiest dynasties of the greatest of ancient 
lands. 

There are sixty-eight of these royal tombs that 
have been opened, and there are probably many more 
in the secret recesses of the heart of these hills. The 
structure of the tombs is about the same in each. 
Let us enter one: Tomb No. 35 it is called. We enter 
an outer door and descend through a corridor which 
leads downward for a long distance, until we come 
to a large, square shaft thirty feet each way, with a 
door at the bottom leading out of one corner and 
designed to foil the tomb robbers. Crossing this 
shaft by means of a bridge, and passing through the 


Where Glorious Civilizations Once Flourished 51 

second corridor (each of these having been wonder¬ 
fully inscribed and colored and with niches here and 
there which once contained statues of the gods), the 
third corridor leads us still downward and then into 
a great antechamber splendidly decorated, from 
which we enter the final tomb chamber. 

From the time we entered the first corridor every¬ 
thing was adorned with inscriptions and scenes from 
the life of the king. Magnificent columns hewn out 
of the solid virgin rock, highly decorated, supported 
the ceiling, which itself was a fine representation of 
the heavens in the night, a sky-blue background with 
yellow stars and occasionally the moon. Here on 
these walls the king is praised and the chief exploits 
of his reign are chronicled. The texts, designed to 
help him in the after-world, are selected from two 
books, “The Book of Him Who Is in the Under¬ 
world" and “The Book of the Gates." The first 
book contains twelve chapters, and there are twelve 
regions of the night corresponding to the twelve 
hours of the night. The king is never referred to as 
dead, but as “triumphant." It is a marvelous 
journey, and at last we are at the end, far down un¬ 
der the mountain; and here in the last chamber, in a 
stone sarcophagus, lies sleeping the mummy of 
Amenophis II., just as he was buried thirty-three 
hundred years ago. He was one of the great kings 
of Egypt. He conquered all of Western Asia and 
brought back at one time the bodies of six kings 
hanging from the prow of his ship. He hung five of 
them from the walls of his palace here at Thebes 
and the sixth on the walls of his palace far up the 
Nile to warn other rebellious kings what would hap- 


52 Dust and Ashes of Empires 

pen to them. Here he lies, this great king of the long 
ago; and to show how the past and present meet, 
there is over his head to-day an electric light. 

It is one of the mysteries, what kind of light they 
used in that day. It is unthinkable that they could 
have executed such splendid detail work so far from 
the light of day without any artificial light, or that 
they would have taken such pains to portray all of 
these deeds of glory unless it was for some eye to see. 
There is not the slightest evidence that torches were 
used, and always when they were used anywhere they 
left unmistakable and indelible signs. Almost every 
mummy from these royal tombs is in the museum at 
Cairo. 

In an antechamber of the tomb of Amenophis II. 
lie the mummies of three persons—a man, a woman, 
and a little girl, as a family group; but who they were 
and why they were in this tomb cannot be ascer¬ 
tained. They may be royal mummies, or they may 
be slaves—no one knows. Several royal mummies 
were found in this grave, where they had been placed 
for safe-keeping in the long ago. No one is supposed 
to have been buried in the valley except kings, even 
the queens being buried on the other side of the hill. 

Here in the heart of the hills reposed these mighty 
kings of old—Thutmose, Amenophis, Seti, and 
Rameses: names that once startled the world. After 
the toil and stress of life, after the flame and fury of 
ambition, after the wild plaudits of a vacillating 
world, after all the pomp and glory, victories and 
riches, thrones and crowns, palaces and temples, 
marching armies and waving banners, the shouting 
and the homage done, here they lie, companions to 


Where Glorious Civilizations Once Flourished 53 

jackals and foxes, their grand tombs the habitation 
of owls and bats, in a valley of silence over which the 
kite and the eagle soar, unmindful that here sleeps 
the dust of once illustrious men who lived and loved 
and fought and died in the long, long ago and were 
forgotten by a world whose easiest task is to forget. 
So let them lie until they are judged by One who 
never forgets. 


CHAPTER IV 
“The Pearl of Egypt” 

From Luxor to Assuan requires a journey of one 
hundred and thirty-two miles. The river travel is 
too slow, and the trains of the Egyptian State rail¬ 
ways often leave the valley and plunge into the 
desert; and wherever you travel by train in that land 
you are in a cloud of dust, so that your eyes are full, 
your clothes are covered with the yellow stuff—you 
breathe it, eat it, and sleep in it. The climate in 
winter furnishes hot days and bitterly cold nights, 
and Egypt knows no method of making fires except 
for cooking purposes. But the dust and discomfort 
do not dull the keen edge of your interest in the 
kaleidoscopic pictures which sweep before your 
vision as you look out upon the majestic ruins of 
that great civilization which once flourished in this 
valley. 

It is a continuation of that long line of glorious 
temples and palaces which we observed below 
Thebes. One striking fact is the predominance of 
temples over palaces, both in quantity and quality. 
Those men of old were much more concerned about 
the houses of their gods than they were for the houses 
in which they themselves lived. Many of the pres¬ 
ent day could emulate that virtue with profit. 

As we travel along, the way bends out to the east 
from the river. We come upon a wondrous ruin, 
different from almost anything else in Egypt. A 
(54) 


55 


The Pearl of Egypt 

great brick wall, thirty-seven feet in width and of 
great height, incloses a space six hundred and twenty 
yards one way and five hundred and ninety the 
other. At one time an outer wall four times as wide 
encircled it. This was the famous city of El Kab, 
which figured in the history of Egypt from very 
early times down to the Ptolemaic period, and is 
especially known as the seat of the Nobles who re¬ 
covered the land from the Hyksos and restored the 
national government and thus founded the empire 
in 1580 B.C. The wall stands in a state of almost 
perfect preservation. The splendid ruins of Edfu 
and Kom Ombo and many others hold the interest 
of the observer along the Nile. Not the least inter¬ 
esting is the mode of life one sees in the valley. 
Irrigation is carried on just as it has been for thou¬ 
sands of years. The principal method in use is the 
shaduf, by which the water is lifted from the river 
with a bucket on a pole with a weight at the other 
end, much like an old-fashioned sweep. This bucket 
is caught by a man higher up and poured into his 
bucket, which in turn is lifted by the same process 
into another, which in the same way is emptied into 
the ditch. There are usually three men working the 
same relay, all of whom are usually entirely naked. 
Camels are seen carrying loads of sugar cane or hay, 
and sometimes a long caravan is to be observed com¬ 
ing in from the desert, perhaps from some distant 
oasis, while everywhere women with huge burdens 
on their heads, but walking with an erectness that is 
astounding and an endurance that is unbelievable, 
are drudging out their weary existence. Children 
seem happy at play in the fields unhampered by 


56 Dust and Ashes of Empires 

clothes and unmindful of sun or cold. The fields of 
Egypt always seem unusually green because con¬ 
trasted with the desert. Once we came upon a group 
of women carrying a dead woman and marching 
straight into the desert sands. 

The First Cataract is reached seven miles above 
the city of Assuan and is the location of the great 
dam, just back of which is the beautiful island of 
Philae, called from earliest times “The Pearl of 
Egypt.” Our work here was done by boat, for the 
waters of the great lake cover now most of the island 
and much of the temples. The granite cliffs above 
the lake exhibit many inscriptions of historical value. 
From this granite ridge and its quarries, which yield 
many kinds of stone, but chiefly red and black gran¬ 
ite of the finest grain and taking the highest polish, 
went the materials for the making of statues and 
columns and the embellishment of temples and 
palaces of every king known to Egypt and many of 
those of foreign nations, far over into Asia and high 
up into Syria. Kings of many dynasties, covering a 
period of two and a half millenniums, left their 
names and records carved here. The great quarries 
have as many inscriptions, and more remains. One 
great obelisk lies in its own quarry, shaped and par¬ 
tially inscribed, but not cut from the mountain side. 
It is ninety-two feet long and ten and one-half feet 
in breadth. A massive causeway over which the 
statues and blocks were conveyed to the Nile in 
ancient times is still in use for the same purpose. 
Many sarcophagi, royal statues, and other remains 
are to be seen in these quarries; and everywhere the 
names of well-known kings are cut in the rock. A 


57 


The Pearl of Egypt 

great wall, built to protect quarrymen and sailors 
from the desert tribes, runs from the cataract almost 
to Assuan. 

The city of Assuan is the highest point in Egypt 
proper; and from here on you are in the Sudan, with 
a different government and people who are quite 
unlike those down the river. The language takes on 
another of its many dialects, and the Ethiopian is 
principally in evidence. I heard a group of Sudanese 
repairing the road and singing as they worked, per¬ 
forming the task to the tune of their song. I closed 
my eyes and tried to imagine that I was back in 
Georgia listening to a gang of negro laborers laying 
rails or rolling logs, for their song was the same, and 
the American negro must have brought it with him 
from his African jungle. 

We used a sailboat to work the island of Elephan¬ 
tine and the cliffs beyond. The breaking through of 
the river left the cliffs of the high plateau which forms 
the level of the desert, and in these cliffs are the 
tombs of the ancient nobles who ruled Egypt and 
had their homes on the island. These tombs go 
back to the thirtieth century before Christ, and some 
very important historical inscriptions are to be 
found on them. 

The rock is almost the color of the rainbow and 
lent itself to wonderful embellishment in tomb¬ 
making. A splendid view is had from the top of the 
rocks, with the desert behind, the river valley wind¬ 
ing down through the sands, with here and there a 
temple ruin, the city below, the green islands with 
the huge granite hills beyond, and just a glimpse of 
the great dam to the south. No one seems to be 


58 


Dust and Ashes 


sure why the island is called Elephantine, but it is 
supposed to have been either an ivory trading point 
or else the place where the early Egyptians first saw 
elephants; but the name has been attached to it for 
nearly five thousand years. The Egyptians called it 
Yebu, which was their name for elephanto Huge 
remains, mostly of brick houses with granite or 
marble columns, mark the ruins of this important 
city of the long ago. On the east side is a Nilometer, 
or well, which measures the rise and fall of the Nile. 
This was restored during the nineteenth century 
after lying idle for a thousand years, but is of very 
ancient build. The figures are in Greek and demotic, 
and here the observer could measure the river and 
make his reports to the king downstream. It was in 
use for thousands of years. 

Perhaps the most interesting thing about the is¬ 
land is the remains of an old Jewish temple, which 
was standing during the time of the second temple 
at Jerusalem. Jewish mercenaries erected the tem¬ 
ple to Jehovah and wrote to Jerusalem and to 
Northern Israel as well for aid. They kept copies of 
their letters; and these copies have been found here, 
dating back to perhaps 500 B.C., and are known as 
the Elephantine Papyri. On the mainland just 
across from the south end of the island was the old 
city of Syene, where the Latin poet Juvenal was 
once stationed as Roman prefect, perhaps to remove 
his biting tongue or rather his satirical pen from the 
city of Rome. Here in ancient times was a well which 
gave no shadow at noontime during the summer 
solstice and so was directly under the tropic, and 
from this well the great scholars of Alexandria worked 


59 


The Pearl of Egypt 

out the system by which the world's bulk is esti¬ 
mated even to this day. Also near here on the 
granite cliffs is an inscription telling of a seven years’ 
famine during the reign of Zoser (perhaps 3000 B.C.). 

One of the most important animals in Egypt is the 
four-footed donkey. Here for ages untold he has 
served every master alike and perhaps with the same 
reluctance. He exhibits the same characteristics 
to-day there and everywhere as those depicted on 
the walls of the most ancient tombs. On one of the 
oldest tombs is the picture of one which is unwilling 
to travel under a heavy load and is being pulled by 
the ear by one driver, his leg being pulled by an¬ 
other, while a third beats him from behind, but with 
indifferent success. This picture is hard on evolu¬ 
tionists. Whether the present race of donkeys are 
direct descendants of those which served the great 
pyramid builders or not is hard to determine, but 
they seem to have the same general ambitions. I 
used to ride one the color of ancient cream, and his 
driver was a tall, slender youth possessing the same 
aspirations as the donkey. After a hard day in the 
desert, in which I had been hard put to make the 
boy understand my Arabic, he came up by my side 
when we were nearing the journey's end and said in 
very good English: “Mister, you know what this 
donkey's name is?" I said: “No. What is it?" 
He squared his shoulders and recited: “George 
Washington, first in war, first in peace, and first in 
the hearts of his countrymen." These poor fellows, 
half fed and wholly unlearned, know nothing of the 
real values among the historical remains to which 
they guide travelers. 


CHAPTER V 
On the Trail of Moses 

The whole land of Egypt contains not more than 
ten thousand square miles of territory, and this 
stretched out for more than two thousand miles 
through the desert, the constant prey to every grasp¬ 
ing government that has come this way, with a down¬ 
trodden people, only two per cent of whom can read 
their own names and many of whom live in the desert 
itself, ever fighting sand from the desert, disease 
from the valley, and men from everywhere. Never¬ 
theless, this little land has profoundly influenced 
the world and furnishes almost every foundation 
upon which civilizations are built. Its delta spreads 
out like a fan, and it is encompassed everywhere by 
sand or salt water. Geologists tell us that at an early 
period of mankind the Sahara was inhabited and 
covered with forests and seamed with streams, but 
some mighty upheaval cut off its rain supply and made 
it into a desert. Then the Nile broke through from the 
highlands of Central Africa and cut a channel through 
the sea of sand like a great Gulf Stream and made 
the land of Egypt. A crevice was formed from the 
Red Sea to the Mediterranean, and this sanded up 
until a narrow isthmus connected Asia with Africa. 
Through this narrow neck the first kings of Egypt 
attempted to find a waterway by cutting canals, 
and early in the third millennium before Christ there 
was a water route from the Gulf of Suez to the 
( 60 ) 


61 


On the Trail of Moses 

Great Sea; so that when De Lesseps, in 1859, began 
the construction of a waterway across this isthmus 
he was only following an age-old precedent. 

The Isthmus of Suez is one hundred miles wide at 
the widest place and much of this is water, Lake 
Menzaleh alone containing about one thousand square 
miles. There are also Lakes Balah and Timsah and 
the Bitter Lakes, so that not much dry territory had 
to be negotiated in digging the canal. This little 
strip of land has played a very important part in 
the history of the world, for across it the nations have 
marched coming and going—Egyptian kings to the 
conquest of Asia and the Asiatic kings to the conquest 
of Egypt; and much of the world's civilization has 
crossed this narrow strip. 

Just to the west of the Isthmus of Suez lay the land 
of Goshen, where all Asiatic Bedouin tribes came for 
pasturage when they turned to Egypt. It is probable 
that Abraham came here, and to this land came Jacob 
with his family of seventy souls. Here they labored 
and lived and grew into a great nation, until “a 
Pharaoh arose which knew not Joseph," and they 
bended their backs to tasks which still remain to 
tell the story. 

The ancient Nome of Gesem, or Goshen, lies be¬ 
tween three cities at the present day, forming a 
triangle, with Zagazik at one point, Abu Hammid 
at another, and Belbeis at the other. This is a very 
small tract of land, but extremely fertile, and is 
watered by what was known as the Tanic arm of the 
Nile, but which now only appears as a canal. On 
the east side of it runs the Wady Tumilat, which was 
the natural pathway of the tribes that came from 


62 Dust and Ashes of Empires 

and went to Asia. Near the western border was the 
old capital of Egypt, Bubastis. On the desert, but 
near the Wady Tumilat and some miles from the 
actual land of Goshen, are two of the cities built by 
the Hebrews, Pithom and Raamses (Ex. i. 11). I 
left the train at Abu Souer and was determined to 
find these cities. I walked seven miles through 
the desert sand and found only meager remains; 
but I felt that I was on holy ground, for over this 
very territory came those first pilgrims of freedom 
seeking a land where they could work out their own 
destinies after their own ideals and under the provi¬ 
dence of their own religious beliefs. 

A great deal of excavation has gone on in the land 
of Goshen, and yet no adequate results have been 
obtained. A much later Jewish temple has been 
excavated, called Tel Yehudiyeh, or Mound of the 
Jew, where Onias, the high priest of Jerusalem, 
expelled by the Syrian party in 170 B.C., with the 
aid of Ptolemy Philometer erected a temple to Je¬ 
hovah, as nearly like that at Jerusalem as possible. 
(See Josephus, “Antiquities/' book 13, chapter 3.) 
Much remains to be found out about the Jews in 
Egypt, but evidence of their presence has been found 
in many places; and large numbers have been there at 
all times during the ascendancy of Egypt among the 
nations of the world. From the time of the Hyksos, 
who were themselves related to the Jews, they were 
in the Delta and at Elephantine, seven hundred 
miles farther north. They were in Memphis and 
Hophra and at Tahpanhes (Jer. xliii. 7, 8). They 
were mentioned at Karnak and other places (1 Kings 
xiv. 25), and now Dr. Reisner, of the Harvard ex- 


On the Trail of Moses 63 

pedition, is rediscovering the records of Queen 
Candace in Nubia. 

The Exodus probably occurred late in the thir¬ 
teenth century before Christ, if indeed it did not oc¬ 
cur just at the end of that remarkable century and 
under the reign of either Meneptah or Seti II. 
They marched along this Wady Tumilat and turned 
down toward the sea because the Egyptians had 
provided a "wall” of frontier forts stretching from 
the gulf to the Great Sea, and so these fugitives must 
of necessity go southward until they passed below 
these guards. They did not cross that body of water 
which we now know as the Red Sea, for that would 
have placed them in Arabia; but rather over the Gulf 
of Suez, which must have been known in that day as 
the Red Sea or a part of it. One account of the 
crossing says that an east wind blew all night and 
made the sea go back, so that the children of Egypt 
went over (Ex. xxi.). The north end of the Gulf of 
Suez is so shallow that it can be waded with the 
exception of that part which has been dug out as a 
channel for the canal. From this point northward 
is the isthmus, with its lakes and marshes, through 
which the canal runs. This strip of land was ever 
the despair of the Egyptian kings and was the one 
point to be guarded. It is now patroled by the lar¬ 
gest of all the British military garrisons. The canal 
is one hundred miles long, thirty-six feet deep, two 
hundred and sixty to four hundred and forty-five 
feet broad at the surface, and one hundred and forty- 
seven feet at the bottom. Our ship was allowed to 
go only at a snail’s pace, and so we were some twenty- 
two hours passing through. 


64 Dust and Ashes of Empires 

Leaving Port Said, a city which sprang up with 
the building of the canal and which has a 
population of fifty-five thousand, we pass quickly 
into Lake Menzaleh, with thousands of herons, 
flamingoes, and pelicans wading about. Seven 
thousand fishing boats ply their trade in these 
waters regularly. We pass through only one ridge, 
and that is only fifty-two feet above sea level, and 
in this De Lesseps found the bones of many animals, 
prehistoric and otherwise. Near here is the tradi¬ 
tional spot where Miriam was smitten with leprosy 
because she murmured at Moses for marrying a 
Cushite woman. The desert of the Sinaitic peninsu¬ 
la is on one side of us, and the waters of the several 
lakes are on the other side; and as we look out to the 
western sunset, we think of the Hebrews and how 
much the Exodus meant to the world and to us. And 
as we pass into the Gulf of Suez, we have Egypt 
proper on our right, and we are saying farewell to 
the land of the Pharaohs. What a wonderful land 
it is, and how much it has meant to the world! From 
the Nile came the first recorded history, first stone 
masonry, first farming implements, first use of col¬ 
umns in buildings, and first use of metal for which 
they crossed the Red Sea in the first ships to sail 
salt water. The first navy of the world sailed out 
from Egypt perhaps through a canal such as we have 
just passed. Egypt was first in almost everything; 
and yet she, with all her ancient grandeur, failed to 
mix with the foundations of her greatness those very 
qualities which endure and preserve the life of a 
nation. She was the master of the preservation of 


65 


On the Trail of Moses 

material things, but she could not preserve her own 
life. She forgot God and died. 

The Isthmus of Suez was a narrow neck of land 
not more than seventy miles wide at its narrowest 
place, entirely barren, but the most important neck 
of land in ancient history. It is sand on one side of 
the canal and water on the other, but this big ditch 
is the connecting link between the East and the West 
by way of the important Near East. Across it came 
the ancient kings of Egypt, daring to go out and dis¬ 
cover that the sky reached farther than the borders 
of their own land, to find new fields of conquest both 
in the realm of thought and of might, to bring new 
ideas for their already great civilization, to convey 
to the outer world the secrets of that wonderful 
civilization, and to widen the areas of the world's 
mental horizon. So across this strip came the armies 
of Asia to conquer and be conquered, to learn, to 
teach, and to mix their civilization with this hoary 
culture of the Nile valley. Across this very strip 
in the long ago came Abraham and Jacob and Jo¬ 
seph and the patriarchs. This narrow strip—ever 
the despair of the Egyptian engineers, where many a 
Pharaoh came to grief with his heavy-wheeled chari¬ 
ots and across which flowed the Asiatic Bedouin 
into this granary of the world, seeking pasture for 
his flocks and herds amid the corn lands of the Delta 
—was at last the home of the Hebrews and the ren¬ 
dezvous of Asiatic political offenders, such as Jere¬ 
miah, Jeroboam, and others; and back across here 
went the children of Israel in search of freedom and 
the land of promise and across it came Mary and 
Joseph and the infant Jesus. 

5 


66 Dust and Ashes of Empires 

The canal enters the Gulf of Suez at Port Taufik, 
which is two miles out in the gulf, where the water 
is deep enough to harbor seagoing ships. A great 
stone pier is built from the city of Suez to Taufik, 
and here at the end of the pier is a fine statue erected 
to Lieutenant Waghorn, a German in the British 
service, who was, above all other men, responsible 
for the building of the Suez Canal. He labored for 
many years trying to convince the British govern¬ 
ment that a canal across this strip was feasible and 
that a direct water route from England to India by 
way of Egypt could be made. At first his ideas 
were scouted because some scientist had proved or 
thought he had proved that the Mediterranean Sea 
is several feet higher than the Red Sea, and so it 
would never work. He finally convinced De Les- 
seps that it could be done; but he died in London in 
poverty in 1850, nine years before De Lesseps un¬ 
dertook to carry out the fulfillment of his dream. 
From the canal entrance round the eastern side of 
the gulf, a distance of about six miles, is a group of 
springs which are more or less brackish, and the 
sweetest one is pointed out as the one sweetened by 
Moses (Ex. xv. 23). They are known as the Springs 
of Moses. 

On the west side of the gulf as you sail southward 
is a range of rugged mountains broken here and there 
by a wady running out toward the Nile, while on the 
east side rises a still more rugged range which in¬ 
creases in ruggedness as you proceed, until it termi¬ 
nates in the Sinaitic group composed of Mount 
Serbal, Mount Catherine, and Mount Musa (Moses). 
The entire Sinaitic Peninsula contains no more than 


67 


On the Trail of Moses 

9,655 square miles. The length from north to south 
is about forty miles—a very small territory, extreme¬ 
ly desolate and forbidding, and yet it has played an 
important part in the history of civilization. 

Looking straight out to the east, north of Serbal, 
there appears what seems to be a great gash in the 
mountain range which leads out from a cove-like 
bay. This is the Wady Maghara, the oldest mining 
district known to humanity. From it came the ear¬ 
liest metal used by mankind, so far as we now know. 
The records show mining operations here as early as 
the thirty-fourth century before the Christian era. 
Earlier kings than Menes may have carried on mining 
operations, and thirty-eight succeeding Pharaohs left 
inscriptions on the high cliffs of that wady, recording 
their operations there, both as to the mining itself 
and their battles with the Bedouin, who were ever 
encroaching on this early Egyptian mining preserve. 
The first sea to be crossed with ships was here in 
connection with these Egyptian mines. So the 
attention of the little world of that day was directed 
to this barren land, and the ever-enlarging world 
likewise has kept a surpassing interest in this little 
patch of desert mountains. That interest became 
paramount when the region became the school- 
house of the people of God, where he himself taught 
them the ways of life and laid the foundation for the 
world's governments. No true civilization since 
has existed that was not made after the pattern 
given in the mount. The imagination runs rife when 
you gaze upon those mighty piles, builded by God 
himself, which stand here as the eternal monuments 
of his unchanging law. 


68 Dust and Ashes of Empires 

Mount Serbal is the largest and lowest of these 
peaks. It rises to a height of 6,759 feet. It is very 
large, having almost two peaks and perhaps did have 
two very distinct peaks in the long ago. It is also 
the farthest north of the three. Jebel (Mount) 
Musa is 7,519 feet high, and on her slopes, 5,014 
feet up, is the monastery of St. Catherine, which is 
said to have been founded about 530 A.D. on the 
site of a Justinian fort. Near this monastery are 
some wells, one of which is pointed out as the one 
from which Moses watered the flocks of Jethro’s 
daughters. There is also a chapel called the Chapel 
of the Burning Bush. But the most important 
thing about the monastery is its wonderful library, 
which has not yet been fully examined, but which 
with the superficial work in it has yielded startling 
returns. Here Professor Tischendorf discovered 
the famous Codex Sinaiticus , dating from about 400 
A.D. It is in Greek and is the oldest known manu¬ 
script except the Vaticanus at Rome. 

Jebel Catherine was named from a legend relating 
how a patrician lady by the name of Catherine during 
the persecution of Maximus fled from Alexandria 
to this mountain for refuge and was captured and 
suffered martyrdom in Alexandria, but whose body 
was later found on this mountain’s summit, carried 
thither by angels. The mountain is frightfully 
precipitous and seems to be impossible of ascent, 
though some have succeeded in reaching the summit. 
It must have been an active volcano, as all the others 
were, only to a later date. It rises to the majestic 
height of 8,551 feet and is the highest peak on the 


On the Trail of Moses 69 

peninsula, covered for the greater part of the year 
with snow. 

Tradition tells us that on one of these heights 
Moses met God face to face and from his hands re¬ 
ceived the law. No human spectacle equals that of 
an active volcano. Those who have stood on the 
slopes of Vesuvius and watched it belch forth clouds 
and sometimes flames of fire and hurtling stones can 
never forget the awful impression. But perhaps no 
spectacle has ever presented such a gloriously awful 
vision as met the astonished gaze of the Hebrew 
hosts on that day when God came down and the 
divine presence was displayed on this mountain top. 
And as you pass along, the mind turns back again to 
that day when the declaration of the independence 
of the human soul was signed and God and man 
joined together in an eternal purpose. 

As we sailed under the shadow of the majestically 
impressive mountain, a group of passengers, mostly 
missionaries bound for India, gathered on the deck. 
A giddy young lady heard them talking about the 
mountains and pointing out the peaks, and she asked 
the chief officer: “Captain, what happened over 
there?” “Miss,” said the officer, “that is where the 
Sermon on the Mount was preached.” 

The temptation was compelling to remain on the 
deck as long as one vestige of the high peaks remain 
in view. I watched on until the sunset, and it was a 
glorious sunset, such as comes only in such a climate 
and under such conditions. Standing on the deck, I 
watched the red rays of the setting sun bathe^the 
peaks of this old mountain in gold until this, too, 


70 Dust and Ashes of Empires 

shaded into copper, and then the night closed over 
this great pile that looked down in awful splendor 
and majesty upon the encampments of Israel as it 
had watched the ships and armies of the Pharaohs 
for millenniums before. 


CHAPTER VI 

On Southern Seas 

After a day's sailing we enter the Red Sea itself 
and find the most beautiful water yet; but this might 
have been partly accounted for by the perfect weath¬ 
er conditions which prevailed. The nights were 
warm, though it was February, but conditions aboard 
were ideal. Why the Red Sea is called red no one 
seems to know; but I rather suspect that at one time 
in its history it was covered with fish spawn, such as 
colors all the Arabian Sea at the proper season of the 
year. The Red Sea is itself quite a historic body of 
water. The earliest tale of a returned sailor was of 
this sea. The earliest shipyard (ca. 3000 B.C.) was 
on its shores. Fleets of the Pharaohs sailed down the 
same roadways upon which we traveled seeking the 
treasures of Punt and the ships of Solomon seeking 
gold from Ophir. 

Our ship leaves the sea for the Gulf of Aden, with 
the Abyssinian shores on our right and the city of 
Aden on our left. We round the point and merge 
upon the Indian Ocean, the bleak shores of the great 
continent of sand known as Arabia on our left. This 
land has never figured much in our civilization, per¬ 
haps for the reason that it is a riverless land and all 
ancient civilization has followed water courses. It 
is thirteen hundred miles long and six hundred miles 
wide on the average. The lower half of it has never 
been explored. It is an ocean of sand, desolate and 

(71) 


72 Dust and Ashes of Empires 

waste. Its southern coast is famed in poetry as a 
land of spices, the land of Hadramut, but in reality 
is a region not to be desired. 

On Sunday, February 29, 1920, we reached the 
city of Bombay and found it crowded to the limit 
with people who could find no place to stay. We 
had cabled from Egypt for rooms at the great Taj 
Mahal Hotel, but found that others had cabled 
earlier. We at last found a hotel at which we could 
get a cot each in a room with fifty cots, for which we 
paid about $5 a day. Bombay is a great Eastern 
city, but it is Eastern; and an officer informed us that 
one can never hurry the East—a bit of information 
that we found to be very true. Bombay begins the 
day at 10 a.m. and then takes its time. 

There are indeed many beauty spots about the 
city, and you are ever looking out to the mountains 
in the distance. Many inhabitants go to the hills 
for the summer months; and I should think that 
there would be ample need for it, for we found it op¬ 
pressively hot on the first day of March. A visit 
to the British governor of the Bombay Presidency 
and to the House of Silence was about the extent of 
our sightseeing, and there are few things more inter¬ 
esting than this House of Silence. It is the central 
place of the Parsee sect, who dispose of their dead 
here. It is a large house surrounded by green trees 
and many attractive features, but marred by the 
presence of many vultures which await the next 
funeral occasion. The Parsees believe that the body 
is evil and both the ground and fire are sacred. They 
must therefore dispose of their dead, and the sooner 
the better for the good of the soul. As they can 


On Southern Seas 


73 


neither desecrate the ground by burying nor the fire 
by burning, they expose the body on a wide grating 
immediately after death, when the waiting vultures 
at once dispose of the flesh and the bones fall through 
the grating. It is a hideous custom, but the best 
these people know. 

We sailed from Bombay on a British transport, 
crossing the Arabian Sea, frequently in sight of the 
Indian coast; and with perfect weather conditions, 
it proved to be a veritable dream voyage. The sea 
during the day was as placid as a mountain lake, 
and fish of every description lay along the surface of 
the water-hammer-headed sharks, small-ringed sea 
snakes, and lazy turtles lying as if asleep on the sur¬ 
face, with now and then a flock of fishing birds 
skimming along the water in search of their daily 
food. At night the phosphorescent display was gor¬ 
geous beyond description, rolling off from the wake 
of the ship in great waves, out of which would leap 
schools of flying fish covered with the glow like tiny 
fairies of the deep. 

. On our right appeared the Persian coast, desolate 
and forbidding, the territory in which Alexander 
the Great lost so many men on his return from India. 
On the left there arose the awful wilds of Eastern 
Arabia, mountain piles that seemed to have no ter¬ 
mination; and somewhere near the foot of this moun¬ 
tain range is the city of Muskat, where diplomats 
who have been kept there too long have gone mad. 
The whole coast is horribly forbidding. Between 
this coast of Arabia and that of Persia, where the 
two come very close together, there is a line of bowl¬ 
ders projecting out of the water every few hundred 


74 Dust and Ashes of Empires 

yards or so, it seems, showing that at some distant 
time the two continents were connected by a strip of 
land. Our ship passes through this gateway, and we 
land in the Persian Gulf, with a heavy sea on. 

When we awoke one fine morning we found that 
the ship had anchored during the night and that we 
were in the mouth of the Shatt El Arab, the river 
that is formed by the confluence of the Tigris and 
Euphrates eighty-seven miles upstream. With 
the coming of the morning we got over the sand bar, 
for which we had stopped, and proceeded up the 
river. How strange it seemed! This indeed was the 
land of Mesopotamia, but not ancient Babylonia, 
for the land upon which we were looking has been 
formed within a very few years. During recorded 
history the two rivers have emptied into the Persian 
Gulf at different places. We pass through the low- 
lying lands, with the desert ever pressing upon the 
river whose banks are fringed with date palm groves 
and with small villages here and there and an occa¬ 
sional large house, the property of some powerful 
sheik, and finally pass the city of Mohammerah, 
where the Anglo-Persian Oil Company have their 
tanks and from which the Persian and Mesopota¬ 
mian oil is shipped to the other side of the world. 
That afternoon we tied up at the piers of the city 
of Basrah, our starting point for a survey of Baby¬ 
lonia and Assyria, those ancient countries which 
vied with Egypt in their influence on the world of 
long ago and indirectly on the world of this and all 
other days. 


CHAPTER VII 
Abraham's Homeland 

The city of Basrah is a huge military camp built 
around a dirty native village. There are canals 
cutting through the town and much standing water, 
some of which is covered with green scum. There 
are about sixty thousand inhabitants of the miserable 
place and a large British army that varies in size 
from day to day. The native quarters of the city 
are miserable in the extreme, and the condition is 
probably about what it has been for generations of 
Turkish rule. 

On our arrival we were met by the British authori¬ 
ties, and quarters arranged for us. Dr. Breasted 
was entertained by the commanding officer, General 
Napean, while the remainder of the party had rooms 
at the most miserable hotel we had yet experienced; 
but it was the best they could do, and we adjusted 
ourselves as best we could to conditions. The water 
was the main difficulty, and we were soon to learn 
that water would be the most serious problem as 
long as we remained in Western Asia. More than 
ninety per cent of the British soldiers in this coun¬ 
try are Indians, and, in fact, the whole government of 
Mesopotamia is but the projection of the Indian 
government. Post offices, railways, and almost 
everything else are Indian. Our luggage was hauled 
by bullock carts driven by Indians, and they were 
quite picturesque. 


( 75 ) 


76 Dust and Ashes of Empires 

Most of the military transportation along these 
rivers is by these bullock carts. We soon found the 
post office and succeeded in doing some business with 
it. Then came the banks, and strange banks they 
are. We went to the Imperial Ottoman Bank, 
where four of us tried to get money. I had American 
travelers' checks in terms of American dollars, 
while the others had letters of credit in terms of 
English pounds. Our arrival created quite a problem, 
and consternation reigned among the officials. An 
Eastern bank is something quite different from our 
American institution. A bank is usually located 
on some back street hard to find and in an old Turk¬ 
ish dwelling house. Here you are introduced to the 
manager, who, when he desires to communicate with 
some other department of the bank, calls at the top 
of his voice for a servant. Usually the call is for 
“Hamid"; and after being called several times and 
being waited for, Hamid appears and is sent off 
with the message. You are sent for later, and from 
one part of the bank to another you go, each depart¬ 
ment laboriously copying by hand the information 
necessary from your document of credit. There are 
no typewriters. Often the clerk stops and orders 
coffee. After a little more than two hours, three of 
us have our money, but it is found that the fourth 
man is so unfortunate as to have a mistake in his 
papers, and so he must wait and have his money 
sent him the next day. Think of an American bank 
taking two or three hours to cash a check and serving 
coffee in the meantime! But this is the East, slow 
and inefficient. 

The wireless station here is one of the largest in 


Abraham's Homeland 


77 


the world, and the military camp is an important 
one. It is the gateway to the land of Mesopotamia 
and Persia. But the place is low and fearfully muddy 
in wet weather and is dreaded by the British officers. 
The camp is scattered until it is almost ten miles 
long, and we found great difficulty in collecting our 
caravan outfit, which was furnished us by the British 
government. Everything was scarce and high- 
priced. The things we had to buy in the native 
bazaars were out of all reason. Common sardines 
are in the neighborhood of forty cents a box and to¬ 
matoes nearly a dollar a can, with everything else in 
proportion. The money market was also against us 
here, for we were forced to use Indian rupees, which 
were higher than any other money when bought with 
American dollars. 

There are many date palm trees and some bananas 
growing along the canals, while the gardens were 
green and beautiful and generally very fertile. 

Rev. John Van Ess, an American missionary, 
lives here and is one of the most popular men in 
Mesopotamia. He has a great school and has done 
much for the British military by making for them a 
grammar of the Mesopotamian dialect of the Arabic 
language. The Y. M. C. A. is also doing good work. 

Here and in all Moslem countries the women do 
the heavy work. They carry hods for building, 
also unload ships and load them again. I have seen 
women unloading a ship carrying lumber on their 
heads in larger quantities than I could lift. The 
ship's captain told us that he always used women 
when loading or unloading ships, and that each wom¬ 
an wears her capital around her neck, arms, and 


78 Dust and Ashes of Empires 

ankles. He said that one lot of women were unload¬ 
ing for him, when he noticed that one of them wore 
gold ornaments while all the others wore silver. 
When he asked her how that was, she replied that 
she was a widow, had no husband to support, and 
could therefore wear the more costly ornaments. 
Truly the lot of an Arab woman leaves much to be 
desired. 

We at last had our military baskets all complete 
and our kit bags filled with bedding, etc., and were 
ready for the journey north. We found a Turkish 
cook, but at the last moment discovered that he was 
technically a prisoner of war and therefore could not 
travel; so another was brought us, a boy who him¬ 
self looked very much like a Turk, but who informed 
us that he was a Mosul Arab. We learned afterwards 
that this makes much difference; in fact, few Mosul 
Arabs can speak the dialect of the southern tribes. 
He wished to go with us, for he had heard that we 
were going to Mosul, and he had been away from 
home for ten years and had not heard from his family 
in all of that time. His name was Ali Mustapha, 
and we were to find after weary months that we had 
made no mistake in securing this faithful servant. 
But more of him later on in this story. 

Our method of travel from Basrah was by the 
Bagdad Railway, and the British military had fur¬ 
nished us with a luggage van, which was attached 
to the train. These trains are quite different from 
anything known in the Western Hemisphere. They 
are rather of the European type, and the coaches 
are only about one-third the size of the ordinary 
American coach and have side aisles for the use of the 


I 



THE MOUND OF UR. 

Home of Abraham. Here are the remains of the temple 
tower, which was standing: perhaps a thousand years earlier 
than Abraham. In the foreground Dr. Breasted, Dr. Lucken- 
bill, and Mr. Edgerton. 



UR OF THE CHALDEES. 

The station on the Bagdad Railway. The Arabic on the 
signboard spells the same as the English. 































Abraham's Homeland 


79 


train officials, with compartments on one side—first-, 
second-, and third-class. The first-class fare is twice 
that of second-class, and the latter is double that of 
third-class. Sometimes, as on the continent of Eu¬ 
rope and also in England, there are no aisles, and the 
train officials either walk along a runningboard on the 
outside or approach the compartments only at sta¬ 
tions. The engines are small, very small, the wheels 
are high, and the whole gives one much the impres¬ 
sion of spiders. Each compartment can be made 
into a sleeper, only one must furnish his own bedding. 
In fact, we were soon to learn that the presence of 
bedding is as necessary to a traveler as the clothes 
he wears on his back. When you are entertained as a 
guest, a bare room is shown you, and it is expected, 
of course, that you have all the needed furniture 
with you. When you enter such a room, you un¬ 
pack a kit bag, from which you extract a folding bed, 
chair, washstand (which can also be made into a 
bathtub), water buckets, blankets, pillows, and 
everything else necessary for your comfort. 

We left Basrah on the night of March 16, and at 
daylight the next morning we were in sight of our 
first Babylonian mound, looming up out of the desert 
on our left. This is the farthest south of any known 
remains, and this one has never been examined. 
The reason there are none south of this point is be¬ 
cause everything from here to the Persian Gulf 
was once under the waters of that gulf, and this 
land has all been made since historic times by the 
silt from the two rivers. 

We were at Ur Junction in time for breakfast and 
found a small city of tents on the desert. We side- 


80 Dust and Ashes of Empires 

tracked our van and made our home in it while we 
surveyed the mounds in that vicinity. 

Four miles out on the desert to the west stands the 
great buried city of Ur, lying in the midst of the des¬ 
ert sands fifteen miles west of the Euphrates, though 
that river once washed its walls. During the early 
morning before reaching Ur Junction we had seen 
here and there flocks of sheep, some of them very 
large flocks, with small herds of cattle being driven 
by the Bedouin farther into the desert in search of 
whatever vegetation they might find. But here 
around the mound of Ur, that great city of hoary 
antiquity, there is not to be seen any form of life ex¬ 
cept an occasional wild animal. The ancient city 
is in a state of great ruin; but its temple tower (called 
now a ziggurat) stands yet some seventy feet high 
and exhibits splendid walls built of square brick 
well burned and measuring about fourteen inches in 
two directions and from one and one-half to two 
inches thick and laid in bitumen obtained from Hit. 
This city, which is still doing business in the bitumen 
trade, is situated about five hundred miles farther up 
the river. In Genesis xi. 3 it is stated that when the 
earliest peoples arrived in the plain of Shinar (Baby¬ 
lonia) they had brick for stone and slime (bitumen) 
for mortar. Strangely enough, the people of that 
country use this same method in building to-day. 
Many of the bricks are inscribed with the name of the 
builder or one of the restorers. The well-known name 
of Nabonidus is often found and also Ur-Engur, the 
builder of the Ziggurat (about 2400 B.C.) and of 
Dungi. 


Abraham's Homeland 


81 


Some distance from the temple tower are the pal¬ 
ace remains, which have been very well excavated, 
revealing a high and luxurious state of civilization 
in that early day. There are many earthenware ves¬ 
sels, broken pottery is abundant, and large succes¬ 
sive drains are found, while the mound itself is cov¬ 
ered with shells and copper ore or fragments of 
copper, together with indications of smelting. The 
shells are everywhere, and it has not been determined 
whether they are river bed shells or salt-water shells; 
but the desert is strewn thickly with them, and their 
antiquity is evidenced by the fact that these ancient 
bricks contain them. There are literally streams of 
these little shells on the mound, and this is true of 
Eridu as well. There was also a large and imposing 
city wall, with evidences of villages surrounding 
this great city. 

Eridu lies fifteen miles to the southwest, across a 
dreary desert, represents one of the very early cities 
of this plain, and by its own records it was a seaport 
on the Persian Gulf, when it was a living city, though 
it is now two hundred miles from the shores of the 
Persian Gulf. 

Between Ur and Eridu is a trackless desert, on 
which the perplexing mirages lift the mound, as you 
approach it, high above the surface of the plain and 
fringe the dream rivers with stately palms which 
change into small desert shrubs as you approach 
and the rivers disappear. 

The remains are of vast importance and exhibit 
many strange peculiarities. There is much burned 
and overburned pottery, some of it melted into 
strange masses. There are, again, evidences of 

6 


82 Dust and Ashes of Empires 

copper smelters and strange earthenware scythes 
which some believe to have been actually used in 
cutting grain, while others think they were used only 
for symbolic purposes. There are several of these 
curious articles now in the museum at Emory Uni¬ 
versity. 

The temple tower is about the same height as that 
of Ur and has many inscribed bricks. Also many 
flints have been found here. 

These two mounds, Ur and Eridu, are the remains 
of once powerful empires that ruled all of this land 
and dominated a vast civilization with teeming 
millions. What a busy place the plain must have 
been, with marching armies, hurrying husbandmen, 
complaining camels, slow donkeys, herds of cattle 
and flocks of sheep, caravans trading with distant 
cities, wonderful processionals expressing the religion 
of that day, the pomp and glory of power illustrated 
in the magnificence of the court life, the grandeur 
of the palaces, and the riches of the treasuries! But 
how strangely silent it all is now! These mighty 
cities are the habitations of wild beasts, and that 
great civilization which once flourished here is but a 
memory; while the Hebrew youth who was born, 
reared, and trained in this valley, who experienced 
his youthful romances and lived his life here, but was 
too insignificant to be mentioned in the kingly 
records, lives to-day, more than he lived then, in the 
hearts of men as Abraham the Faithful. Even the 
ancient rivers move out of their beds and flow other¬ 
where, the desolate desert succeeds the fertile valley, 
and silence reigns; but the character of a good man 
enlarges with the passing millenniums. 


Abraham's Homeland 


83 


From Ur we move to Naziriyeh, ten miles to the 
east and the end of that branch of the railway. The 
journey is made in the night, and we are met by a 
British officer and entertained for the night. What 
fine fellows these Britishers on the outposts of civili¬ 
zation are! We are under much obligation to them 
for kindnesses shown. 

The next morning we awoke to look from our 
windows out on the ancient Euphrates for the first 
time. There are many beautiful gardens and trees 
along the river banks, and as long as you keep close 
to the river you feel that the city is beautiful. That 
morning we also heard the muezzin for the first 
time. He climbs to the high parapet of the still 
taller minaret of the mosque, and from this high 
position calls to prayer. His voice, trained from 
childhood, is wonderfully rich and with great carry¬ 
ing power. As daylight breaks, his fine voice sweeps 
over the city, calling the faithful to a remembrance 
that Allah is God, that Mohammed is his prophet, 
and that all the faithful should acknowledge him in 
prayer. 


CHAPTER VIII 
By the Ancient Rivers 

There is a curious river which runs out of the 
Tigris and into the Euphrates, known as the Shat 
el Hai, and up this river we went from Naziriyeh in 
British army Fords, with Indian drivers. The 
whole country in here is cut up with irrigation 
ditches, both ancient and modern. A native never 
cleans out an old ditch; but when one fills up (as 
they readily do), he digs another; so we passed many 
ditches lying alongside each other, with rude bridges 
constructed for the military to pass over. After a 
hard day over these miserable ditches, and having 
run off of one of the bridges, we finally arrived at the 
city of Shatra, a small town which the British cap¬ 
tured in the attempt to relieve Kut el Amara. They 
also walled it and made great gateways. Captain 
Barclay, the political officer in charge, was only 
twenty-two years old; but he was a king in his realm, 
having the power of life and death over his subjects; 
and when he walked through the town, as he did to 
guide his guests, all the population would stand to do 
him honor. 

We were entertained in the evening at the house 
of a powerful sheik, whose name is Sa’id Hassan, a 
great merchant and landowner. The scene in his 
house was bewilderingly Oriental. The old sheik 
himself met us at the outer door of the courtyard 
and saluted us by placing his hand upon his heart 
( 84 ) 


85 


By the Ancient Rivers 

and saying, “Ahlan Wahsalen,” which, being freely 
interpreted, means, "My people are as your people.” 
He then conducted us into a large chamber covered 
with rich rugs, the walls also being hung with them. 
He was quite modern in that a table graced the center 
of the room and a kerosene lamp like a chandelier 
hung above it. Of course these were brought from 
the West. There were also invited guests, from 
among his own friends or rather his own family, who 
acted as waiters or a reception committee. A serv¬ 
ant only brings things in; he never delivers them to 
a guest, but this must be done by the host or'some 
honored member of his family. These invited guests 
were a great study to us, especially as this was our 
first experience in a native house. One of them, a 
middle-aged man, wore a wonderful garment in white 
and brown stripes, each stripe being about eight 
inches wide and the garment coming down to his 
feet and folded around him in loose folds. He wore 
on the outside of this a tunic of earners hair, and he 
sat in stolid silence during the whole evening, never 
speaking, but with a look of judicial wisdom that 
would have done justice to a member of the supreme 
court. The host was a most picturesque figure: 
round and fat, with a most jovial face covered with 
gray whiskers, his head covered with the usual 
"tablecloth” and camel's hobble. His countenance 
was as guileless and smiling as that of a pure woman. 
Arab coffee was passed, and we partook. It is 
boiled down until it is like oil, you are given a tea¬ 
spoonful at a time, the operation is three times re¬ 
peated, and all drink from the same cup. While the 
conversation goes on, spectators stand around and 


86 Dust and Ashes of Empires 

listen; and when at last after many coffees you take 
your leave, either the host or trusted members of 
his family take lights and guide you home again. 
One is constantly reminded of some Biblical story. 

On the morning of March 20 we started once more 
up the Shat el Hai, this time by boat. The British 
officer, Captain Crawford, had sent down his launch 
for us; but the engine refused to function, so we took 
another type of boat, one that is more familiar to 
this river and which might be termed a two-cylinder. 
That is, a line was fastened to the stern and went up 
over the mast and out to the banks, where two na¬ 
tives furnished the propelling power. Thus we 
traveled until we reached a point on the river near¬ 
est the mound representing the buried city of La- 
gash. Here we were met by Arab horses and some 
native soldiers who were to act as our guards for the 
day and, in fact, for several days. We sent our 
“boys,” the second of whom we had secured from 
Naziriyeh and whose name was Abbas, up the river 
to the village of Suewj to pitch the tents and prepare 
for the evening meal. Our Arab steeds proved to be 
miserable realities when compared to the picture- 
book ideals. An Arab steed is nearly impossible. 
It is a very good breed of pony; but the country is 
rough, and as the Arabs take very poor care of the feet 
of their horses, they are far from being sure of foot. 
One of our party had to mount for the first time in 
his life, and the day was hard for him. We rode off 
like mad, as the natives ride, for twelve or fifteen 
miles across the plains to the east, until we came to 
the ancient city of Lagash, now known as Tel Lo—a 
large mound excavated by the distinguished French 


By the Ancient Rivers 87 

archaeologist, DeSarzec, who worked here for thirty 
years, living in the village in which we were camped. 
This mound is far from being uncovered yet; and 
while DeSarzec found many wonderful things, in¬ 
cluding the famous headless statues of Gudea, the 
Patesi of this city, and many other things, the mound 
still exhibits a vast unexplored pile, which may yet 
yield even greater treasures to the future excavator. 
This is the oldest known city in Mesopotamia, and 
one of the most glorious civilizations must have ex¬ 
isted here according to the remains found in it. And 
yet as we approached the mounds three hyenas ran 
away, and during the day we saw two jackals and a 
fox. Every mound visited in the entire land was in¬ 
habited by wild beasts of some sort. Here we made 
some very good finds and observed some extraordi¬ 
nary things, not the least of which to me was the 
finding of bricks with Semitic inscriptions on them. 
I also brought from this mound a fragment of one of 
the famous Gudea statues and placed it in the mu¬ 
seum of Emory University. 

Late in the evening as we rode back toward the 
village we observed a horseman dashing wildly to¬ 
ward us from the direction of the village, and as he 
came nearer we could see that he rode a fine horse 
and was dressed in flowing robes of desert stripes and 
pure white. He rode straight for us, and with much 
flourish and exhibition of horsemanship he dashed 
into our midst and gave each of us his hand, then 
took his position alongside our chief and conducted 
us in style to our destination, for he was the rais, or 
sheik, of the village and our host. When we arrived 
at camp the entire village was out to see us. Our 


88 Bust and Ashes of Empires 

boys had up their tents, but no supper was awaiting 
us, and we were informed that the great rais of the 
village would entertain us at his own council tent. 
So after we had washed and shaved, to the utter 
astonishment of the natives, the rais came again, 
drove away the mere spectators, and with his chosen 
men conducted us with much pomp to his Mejlef 
tent, where we were served in the good Bedouin way. 
After a long, long time spent on the rugs of the tent, 
with much to eat, we were conducted back to our own 
lodgings. On the way up to the supper the rais had 
severely chastised a boy who became too curious and 
came too close; and when we suddenly turned a cor¬ 
ner and found ourselves face to face with two old 
women carrying water on their heads he shouted a 
fierce command to them to get out of the way, as it 
would be a serious breach of etiquette for his guests 
to meet a woman. The poor things had nowhere to 
run, though they seemed frightened half out of their 
wits, so they turned their faces to the wall and stood 
that way until we passed. 

That night was far from being a comfortable one, 
for, in the first place, our native soldiers, sent by the 
government to guard us, as all natives do, lay awake 
most of the night and talked and sang; then toward 
morning a terrible sandstorm arose that filled our 
tents, and we awakened black with dust and chilled 
with the desert cold. 

By the time we were ready to leave this place the 
captain’s launch had been repaired, and we went on 
upstream in that. It is a strange experience to sail 
up one of these streams. Here and there are signs of 
civilization of some sort. We pass men “‘bunding , i ” 


89 


By the Ancient Rivers 

which is their way of building levees to hold the 
river in place. Here would be a lone shepherd with 
his flocks, there a herd of camels, while on the river 
we were all the time meeting boats and reed rafts 
and other products floating down the river to market. 
Everything is as crude as it has been since the de¬ 
cline of the last civilization, thousands of years ago. 
Finally we came to the village of Kalat Sikkar, 
which was the place of our headquarters. Captain 
Crawford, a tall Australian in the British political 
service, met and welcomed us. His nearest neighbor, 
so far as a white man is concerned, was forty miles 
down the river. The next day we were off on some 
still more miserable Arab horses for a mound, some 
fifteen miles to the east, which had never been chart¬ 
ed, was entirely unknown to the archaeological world, 
and may prove to be the great lost city of Isin, or 
Ninsin, of the ancient records, though this is hardly 
likely; but it is known to the Arabs as Tel Ammud, 
which means “ wooden building,” and it may have 
had a wooden building on it at some time in the past. 
There were vast quantities of beautifully glazed pot¬ 
sherds, many uninscribed bricks, and much metal 
in fragments. Pavements protruded from the 
ground, and there was every indication of a very pre¬ 
tentious city in the long ago. A modern Arab grave¬ 
yard was on the top of the mound, and grinning 
skulls were to be seen lying around. The desert 
Bedouin always seeks the highest places to bury his 
dead. We stood on the top of this mound, or rather 
series of mounds, for it exhibited a small range, and 
thought of the high state of civilization which must 
have existed here in antiquity. As far as the eye 


90 Dust and Ashes of Empires 

could see was one network of ancient canals, one of 
which was like a small river in size. What a glorious 
capital this must have been! And yet its very name 
has been lost, and the people that made it great have 
long ago been forgotten. It also reminds one of the 
archaeological work remaining to be done. 

Our fine Arab steeds ran away that day. The two 
in the lead, one of which was ridden by Dr. Breasted 
and one by Mr. Edgerton, who had never been on a 
horse until the day before, broke away and ran for a 
mile or so until Dr. Breasted's horse fell in an irri¬ 
gation ditch, while the other ran on for miles, until 
caught by the Bedouin. 

The Mound of Tel Yokha, or ancient Umma, lies 
twenty-five miles to the southwest of Kalat Sikkar, 
in the edge of the desert, and was the rendezvous of 
the most noted bandit in Mesopotamia, one Missal, a 
fellow who had gotten so bad that his own tribe 
had attempted to expel him, when they became di¬ 
vided, half of the tribe going with Missal and the 
rest remaining with his brother. The British govern¬ 
ment had tried every way to capture this bandit. 
They had sent punitive expeditions and bombing 
planes, but to no avail, and he continued to terrorize 
the whole country round about. We were anxious 
to go to Umma, and insisted on taking the risk of 
meeting Missal, in order that we might visit this 
great mound. The British officer was determined 
that we should not go, for he said he was personally 
responsible to his government for our safety. When 
he did finally consent, it was only after he had de¬ 
cided that it was his duty to go with us; and so one 
morning we crossed the river in boats and found 


91 


By the Ancient Rivers 

Arabs with horses waiting on the other side. There 
were five native soldiers and several sheiks who 
intended going with us. After much trouble with 
the horses, we finally got started, but were no more 
than started when we came to a village where we had 
to have coffee and then on for the hard ride. The 
captain was a splendid rider, as was Dr. Breasted, 
and I tried to keep up with the foremost. One of our 
party weighed two hundred and twenty-five pounds 
and his pony was small, so he traveled slowly. 
Then Mr. Edgerton, who was not accustomed to 
horses and who played a part in the runaway the 
day before, was not anxious to ride hard, and Mr. 
Bull was too sick to travel that day, so the result 
was that three of us, with two or three soldiers, out¬ 
stripped the others by several miles and reached the 
mound alone. We at once undertook an examination 
of the magnificent pile, measuring somewhere in the 
neighborhood of five miles in circumference and very 
high. It was one of the most glorious of the ancient 
cities, but to-day the desert sand comes in waves, 
covering up about half of it, and it is too far from 
water to invite the excavator. From the top of it 
several other buried cities can be seen, and we visited 
many uncharted mounds on our way out. This whole 
valley was once a fertile plain, teeming with life and 
activity and glorious with wealth and marching ar¬ 
mies, wonderful cities and vast temples, luxurious 
palaces and mighty kings. But now the desert! I 
made a number of very good finds here for the uni¬ 
versity. 

While I stood on a higher place on top of the 
mound, looking for the remainder of the party, I 


92 Dust and Ashes of Empires 

happened to notice an Arab on one of the sandhills, 
then an Arab horseman, and then several horsemen. 
I called the others of my party who had come up, 
and the captain said: “It’s Missal, and we are per¬ 
haps done for.” I shall never forget the next few 
moments. Things seemed to happen so fast that 
years were lived in that brief time. About twenty 
horsemen formed in line and charged up that hill¬ 
side in full gallop. Up they came straight for us. 
Not one of us said a word. When the bandit's men 
reached a point about two hundred feet from us, 
they stopped as suddenly as they started, then Mis¬ 
sal and two of his men dismounted, came forward, 
and kissed the shoulder of the captain in token of 
surrender. He took the camel's hobble, which all 
Arabs wear, from his head and put it around his 
neck in token of the fact that he was a prisoner. 
Missal had surrendered to the British government. 
Then we went to Missal's camp in the desert to dine 
with him. It was a very large camp, with the great 
council tent in the center of things, and all of camel's 
hair. We were now in the very desert itself, so far 
as custom is concerned, and in the most primitive 
surroundings possible. We were taken into the great 
tent and seated on the conventional rugs. A tray 
was brought in, fully three feet in diameter, piled 
high with rice and two roast sheep on the top of the 
rice, with the customary tidbits and the like. We 
were hungry and did full justice to the meal, sitting 
around on our haunches, in true Oriental fashion, 
eating with our right hands. There were no knives, 
forks, spoons, plates, or anything of the sort, and one 
in America could put his foot in the food with as 


93 


By the Ancient Rivers 

much propriety as he could put his left hand in the 
food of that country. You must eat with one hand 
only. The Arabs, with lifelong training, succeed 
and never drop a grain of rice; but an American is 
apt to need a bath after the attempt. When the 
food is finished, coffee is brought, which is as strong 
as medicine. It is boiled down to the last possibility 
of strength. And then, I think, probably the strength 
is added to by the fact that the pots are never cleaned. 
These pots are of copper and last always. They 
have beaks that look like the beak of a stork. One 
large pot sits in the middle, with a number of smaller 
ones around. There is a kind of professional coffee 
maker in each tribe, always an old man, and he hun¬ 
kers down over his work, stirring the live coals, 
which are on the ground, and getting his coffee hot. 
Dirty or not, it was frequently very welcome to a 
tired traveler, and all the more so as it is the absolute 
guarantee of safety, when once your host has served 
it. After the coffee comes tea, which is always too 
sweet, highly flavored, and very hot. Then ciga¬ 
rettes are offered. The highest expression of courte¬ 
sy at the table of an Arab is to belch; and the more 
and louder you can belch, the greater is the compli¬ 
ment to his generosity and the sumptuousness of the 
meal which he has prepared for his guests. The 
Arabs themselves are past masters at the belching 
business. 

When we were through eating, one of our party 
said, “Nobody will ever believe how big that dish is, 
and I shall take a picture of it”; but before he could 
do so it was quickly removed, and two of Missal's 
holy men came in to plead that he be not sent to the 


94 Dust and Ashes of Empires 

“Hakeem” at Naziriyeh, for that officer had known 
him for years, and he wanted to be judged by Cap¬ 
tain Crawford, who had been there only a very short 
time. When these pleas did no good, four of Mis¬ 
sal's wives came in and wailed around the captain to 
soften his heart. But the captain ordered him to 
Naziriyeh, and what became of him I do not know. 
But since then that whole country has been swept 
clean of British soldiers and I am afraid my friend 
Crawford lost his life. Captain Barclay, at Shatra, 
was taken out by airplane. 

That night we reached the river several miles be¬ 
low the town, and, stumbling through the dark, 
leading our horses, we finally found the launch, 
which had been sent down the river to meet us, and 
started upstream, arriving after 11 P.M. We had 
been invited to a dinner in town on our return at 
6 P.M., and we found that this had been kept waiting 
for us all this time. We were under the necessity of 
going on with this until 1 A.M., though we would 
gladly have dispensed with this hospitality, which 
really endangered our health. 

At 6 A.M. we were once more on our way down the 
river to Shatra, where Fords waited to take us on 
back to Naziriyeh, whence we took launch up the 
Euphrates for Daragi. We attempted to sleep on 
board while traveling, but found it difficult; and 
about midnight we stuck on a sandbar, so when we 
were loosed from that we anchored for the night. 
It was rather picturesque, had we been in the frame 
of mind to enjoy it. The moon was shining, and the 
land on both sides of the river was interestingly 
fringed v/ith willows and palms. We were going up 


95 


By the Ancient Rivers 

an ancient river that had seen the passing of many 
centuries of civilization and along which, according 
to our traditions, the earliest of our race lived and 
loved and died. 

As soon as daylight came we started on up and 
reached the village quite early. After breakfast we 
were met by the sheik with horses, so we prepared 
for another journey into the interior. Dr. Breasted 
was disabled from the strenuous days of work we had 
just been through, perhaps also from the sheik din¬ 
ners we had been under the necessity of eating, and 
so was compelled to spend the day on board the 
launch. When our horses were brought out, we 
found that they were not only minus bridles as usual, 
but also most of the saddles were minus stirrups 
and it was a long ride. But we were off, the sheik 
himself accompanying us. The whole territory 
seemed to have been at one time under cultivation 
and much of it showed signs of having been under 
water. We would ride through one field of camel 
thorn, then over a wide, barren strip, and then 
through fields of very good grass. This has been the 
bed of the river in comparatively late times. There 
are many shells, and occasionally a flint is to be 
found. The country, like that about Kalat Sikkar, 
is covered with sand grouse, a fine game bird, and 
the British officers find hunting good. 

The mound is known as Warka, but in ancient 
times was known as Erech (Gen. x. 10). It is the 
largest single mound in Mesopotamia, being six 
miles in circumference and quite high. There are 
also many ruins of smaller towns or villages all 
around the plain, while some distance away is a 


96 Bust and Ashes of Empires 

high mound rising abruptly above the plain. It 
seems to have been only a tower, and there is no 
evidence of any buildings about it. There are the 
remains of three or four zikkurats, or temple towers, 
and the one which seems to be the oldest is built 
of unbaked brick and is the highest point in the ruins. 
The wall is exposed to the weather on every side, yet 
at intervals of six or eight feet there are reed mats, 
covering the whole tower, as if the tower had been 
built up to a certain height and then a mat laid on 
the top of this, the building raised on top of this for 
another six or eight feet; but the most astonishing 
thing, almost unbelievable, is the fact that these 
reeds in between mud brick, exposed to the weather 
through thousands of years, are in a state of perfect 
preservation, although this tower was standing in the 
days when Genesis x. 10 was written and is thought 
to have been built at least as early as 2700 B.C. 
When the British archaeologist, W. K. Loftus, visited 
Babylonia, in 1849, nothing so impressed him as this 
great mound and its most ancient tower of sun-dried 
brick, with well-preserved reed mats. 

Before the war the Germans were excavating here 
and had uncovered a wall on the north side which ex¬ 
hibited three buildings. The top was a Parthian or Se- 
leucid temple remains, the next Babylonian, and then 
under a strata of debris an older wall going on down. 
Near the main ruins is another large mound rising ab¬ 
ruptly from the plain, without any indication of other 
buildings connected with it, and wholly unknown. 

Standing here on this mound and looking to the 
southeast another rises in full view, sixteen miles 
away. This is the ancient Larsa (Gen. xiv.). It is 


97 


By the Ancient Rivers 

now called Senkere. One feels as if he were standing 
on some mountain peak and reading the Bible from 
physical remains. 

The mound of Warka exhibits many remains of 
Parthian burials. Here and there are many terra 
cotta coffins, generally in the form of a shoe and 
called “ slipper coffins.” They are beautifully glazed 
and can be found whole, but are very difficult to 
handle, for they are very fragile. I digged into one of 
these, but there was nothing but dust. The Parthian 
glazing was splendid. I found one pile of broken 
pottery that looked for all the world like a modern 
croquet set: bright yellow, green, red, and blue. 
There were flints, alabasters, and cones. The mound 
is surrounded by a desert which becomes a swamp, 
at certain periods of the year, owing to the overflow 
of the Euphrates. The Bedouin tribes in this vicinity 
are usually troublesome. We were accompanied to 
Warka by several of the tribe from the village of 
Daragi, headed by their chief, who took along plenty 
to eat and insisted on our partaking of the uncertain 
meal. These fellows are very hard riders, and have 
little respect for people who cannot ride with them. 
We were glad to be back at the river and on our way 
back to Naziriyeh and better sleeping quarters, 
especially as some of us were laid up under the good 
care of military doctors. But after a few days’ 
recuperation we were again on our way by train to 
Ur and then up the country to Diwaniyeh, where 
we arrived about 7:30 P.M. on March 27 and were en¬ 
tertained by the British officers. Here we had our 
first mail since reaching Mesopotamia, the American 
consul at Bagdad having sent it down to us. I found 
7 


98 Dust and Ashes of Empires 

among my mail a package of Church papers, and 
during a day or two of sickness they read exceedingly 
well. I never seemed to appreciate them quite so 
much. 

From Diwaniyeh we went across the country 
about twenty-five miles to the main village of the 
Afek tribe, where we secured horses and traveled 
over the worst country we had so far found, until we 
reached the huge mound of Nippur, the sacred city 
of the ancient Babylonains. The University of Penn¬ 
sylvania, under the directorship of Dr. John P. Pe¬ 
ters and later by Dr. T. H. Haynes, assisted by Hil- 
precht, Harper, and Fisher, did a splendid work of 
excavation here. They found very remarkable re¬ 
mains, indicating a sort of Westminster Abbey, 
where the royal records of many kings were laid up 
before the gods. 

The mound is situated in the midst of a rather 
fertile land, but the tribes are doing little with it. 
There are many herds of camels in the vicinity and 
have been for centuries, the natives seeming never 
to change their occupation. The British were dig¬ 
ging a great irrigation canal some distance from here. 
It is twenty feet deep, eighty feet wide at the bottom, 
and they were working twelve thousand Arabs at 
one time on it. To the south are ancient marshes 
filled with reeds. On the south and west was the 
Euphrates in ancient times, and a river known as the 
Shat el Nil was here when the excavations were 
being made, but it is desert now. 

Among the finds here was a library of thirty thou¬ 
sand cuneiform tablets. Many Hebrew vases were 
taken from the ruins, also many other things. The 


99 


By the Ancient Rivers 

University of Pennsylvania worked here during 
four campaigns from 1889 to 1900, and yet it seems 
that another generation will be required to finish 
the task. The size of the ruins is stupendous—almost 
enough to depress one as he stands here and looks 
down from dizzy heights into the deep excavations, 
peeps into dark tunnels leading down into ancient 
libraries and glorious halls of judgment, long cor¬ 
ridors and high walls bespeaking a city that would 
do justice to any civilization of any age, and then to 
gaze out over the wide plain to the horizon on every 
side and think of the fertile farms, the mighty armies, 
and the great men who lived in this land in the long 
ago, and to realize that all this pomp and power has 
passed into oblivion and these mighty palaces are 
now the haunts of wild animals and these once fer¬ 
tile plains are but the playgrounds of roving, idle 
Bedouins. But such is the fate of nations. Govern¬ 
ments are but the playthings of time. One succeeds 
another as the dead body of one coral builder suc¬ 
ceeds another until we stand where we are, the heirs 
of all that has gone before, but keeping and utilizing 
only that which is worth while, realizing that these 
governments were only a means to an end and that 
human character is that end, and only this endures. 


CHAPTER IX 
Babylon the Fallen 

The British government was very good to us, and 
we found the British officers in Mesopotamia especially 
kind and hospitable. These fine fellows live out here 
on the frontiers of the British Empire, serving for 
years amid dangers and loneliness, with disease ever 
lurking near and nothing to break the monotony of 
this miserable life, so that a guest from afar is a 
luxury. A captain asked me how I liked the trip. I 
remarked that the worst thing about it was the long 
time away from home and family. He said, “How 
long?” I replied, “Nine months.” He looked at 
me for a moment and then said: “And I for seven 
years. I have a little girl in my home whom I have 
never seen.” I said, “I wouldn’t do it.” “Then,” 
said he, “you couldn’t have an empire.” I said, “I 
don’t want one; neither does any other American.” 

The officers at Diwaniyeh were especially courteous 
to us. Major Daily and Captain Shulman enter¬ 
tained us and sent us on our way under British 
military movement order, so that our van and our¬ 
selves both moved without expense to us. However, 
when we reached the train and sought out our com¬ 
partment, we found two British officers already es¬ 
tablished in it; and when we were fairly in, there were 
seven of us with an enormous amount of baggage, all 
in a compartment made for four. Thus we rode to 
Hillah, reaching that important place a little after 
( 100 ) 


101 


Babylon the Fallen 

midnight, but found no one to meet us. Orders had 
gotten mixed, and we were stranded on the little 
platform in a strange land and at the midnight hour, 
with the main city two miles away. We finally found 
a group of tents and among them an empty one which 
we at once appropriated and spread our beds for a 
little rest. About 7:30 a.m. an English colonel put 
his head in the tent and said: “Who are you? But 
whoever you are, I have ordered breakfast for you, 
and it is ready.” 

We told him we were American archaeologists and 
explained the plight in which we had found ourselves 
the night before. Soon we were seated around a 
military table with a very good breakfast and a 
Canadian lieutenant in charge. It was the engineer¬ 
ing corps of the army at that point. 

By noon we were installed at the army post in the 
city of Hillah, having been assigned to an old Turkish 
home, with its wonderful gardens and its interesting 
architecture. The city is built of bricks taken from 
Babylon and has a population of about twenty 
thousand. It lies on both sides of the Hillah branch 
of the Euphrates, and was rather an important city 
to the Turks, as it now is to the British. The garrison 
here is quite large, and on Easter Sunday we attended 
service at the garrison church, which consists of a very 
small tent and a still smaller attendance. One 
striking thing about the British Tommies in that 
country is their youth, many of them being not more 
than sixteen or seventeen years old. All of them 
under eighteen are required by the government to 
attend religious classes and services held by the 
“padre.” These chaplains are usually fine fellows 


1 102 Dust and Ashes of Empires 

and are considered very essential to the welfare of the 
British army. To one of them I remarked on the 
youth of the soldiers in this far-away land, and he in¬ 
sisted that they were better off than their fellows 
at home. It is hard for an American to understand 
the British ideal. Everything to him is the empire, 
and for that he lives; the army is a career. They have 
a soldier class; and these men, both officers and pri¬ 
vates, enter for twenty to thirty years, then retire on 
a pension and go into some other business. May 
America never have a soldier class! 

From Hillah we went on a visit to Nejef, the most 
sacred city of the Shiite Moslems. And yet it is 
perhaps no more sacred than Kerbela, which lies a few 
miles farther north, the latter being the burial place 
of Husein, and Nejef that of Ali, the son and the son- 
in-law of the prophet. Nejef is forty miles southwest 
of Hillah, and the way leads through some very fertile 
territory. The Euphrates is crossed at Kuba, a 
village lying in the midst of green trees and fine date 
palms, with green fields of barley and flocks of sheep. 
The roads were lined with pilgrims of all descriptions 
and proceeding in all sorts of ways. Many were 
walking, more were on donkeys, some on horses, 
others in two-horse wagons (the only vehicles of the 
kind we had seen), while still others walked and led 
mules, which carried the baggage. Sometimes we 
would meet a mule, with a kind of basket on each 
side, one of which contained a man and the other his 
wife. Once we passed a man with his pilgrim’s staff 
and water bottle and a bag of clothes, while by his 
side walked a very small boy carrying the same ac¬ 
couterments, only smaller. Many of these people 


103 


Babylon the Fallen 

had come thousands of miles, but they were accumu¬ 
lating grace by this holy visit to the tomb of their 
favorite saint. 

The most pathetic thing one sees is the death jour¬ 
ney, hy which friends bring the dead body of a 
friend all the way from Persia and sometimes from 
India and far-away countries, that he may be buried 
near the holy saint and thus give him absolute assur¬ 
ance of salvation. Last year it is said that more than 
forty-five thousand dead bodies were brought from 
a distance to Nejef alone. We met many of these on 
their way. Generally the process is to carry the body 
on a horse or mule in front of the rider. It is some¬ 
times rolled in reeds, sometimes wrapped in a loose 
cloth and placed in a wooden frame like a crate, where 
it lies bobbing up and down with the movement of the 
animal—and this continues for weeks. The pilgrim 
camps each night and finds a place to leave the body 
till morning. In Turkish days these pilgrims were 
frequently robbed, so they finally hit upon the plan 
of hiding their money in the mouth of the corpse. But 
this was in time discovered, and the zealous Moham¬ 
medans would pry open the mouth of each corpse 
that passed that way, going to his own holy city, to 
find the few coins which might be hidden there. There 
are more than one hundred thousand pilgrims per 
year who visit this place, and perhaps twice that 
many go to Kerbela. As these pilgrims after many 
weary weeks of travel come along this way, straining 
their eyes toward the western desert, there appears 
in due time the wonderful, gilded dome of the mosque 
of Ali, with its beautiful minarets and clock tower 
all covered with gold leaf said to be an eighth of an 


104 Dust and Ashes of Empires 

inch thick and kept perfectly burnished and glitter¬ 
ing in the brilliant sunlight under the clear desert 
skies. These people are extremely devout and fa¬ 
natically religious. From the earliest experiences of 
their lives they hope some day to make this pilgrim¬ 
age, and after years of saving and planning they at 
last start with joy and glad sacrifice, enduring every 
hardship necessary to the journey. When at last, 
weary and footsore, they catch the first glimpse of 
that burnished dome, what a thrill of joy and emotion 
must come to them! And yet they are a pitiable lot. 
They do not know the first principle of right living, 
and theirs is a cult of the dead. 

After crossing the river at Kuba, you come to a 
village that is held most sacred because in its mosque 
Ali met his death at the hands of his enemies. Then 
comes a long stretch of desert, with the city in plain 
view, surrounded by the most exaggerated mirage 
that I have ever seen anywhere and which lifts the 
city up from the plain and makes it seem to be a 
dream city come down out of the clouds, with its 
shining dome glistening like the fabled cities of Para¬ 
dise. But the city is surrounded by an enormous 
cemetery, where day and night the professional wash¬ 
ers of the dead ply their trade. After the ablution 
the dead body is carried on the head to the sacred 
mosque and finally back to its last resting place. We 
stood on a mound outside the city and watched the 
process until Dr. Breasted requested one of our party 
to go down and meet the carriers and take a photo¬ 
graph of them. When he was through, Dr. Breasted 
called to know if he got it. “ Yes, I got it,” he said 


Babylon the Fallen 105 

in great disgust as he came back up the hill holding 
his nose. 

The city of Nejef was inaccessible to non-Moslems 
until it was taken by the British, and even then not 
long before our arrival the Moslems assassinated the 
British political officer. We walked through the city 
under guard of the officers and passed by the famous 
mosque where we could look in. We did not dare 
stop near the entrance, but rather looked over our 
shoulders as we passed, being admonished not to look 
while we were coming up, but rather as we passed on. 
The city is surrounded by high walls, broken only 
where the British shells tore through. A great pe¬ 
culiarity of the place is its underground dwellings— 
having a kind of subway with dwellings sometimes 
two stories underground, and the dump of earth on 
the south side of the city made by these excavations is 
higher than the city itself. The streets are narrow and 
filthy, and the bazaars are poor, though the goldsmiths 
and silversmiths of Nejef are famed for their fine 
workmanship. Standing on the walls of Nejef and 
looking west across a desert for fifteen miles, one sees 
the borders of Syria and the Syrian desert, while Je¬ 
rusalem lies straight west of us; but there are yet many 
weary w^eeks before we are to see the promised land. 

It was Easter time, and we were in the midst of a 
people whose religion is a worship of the dead; and 
here amid these poor benighted worshipers of the 
tombs of uncertain saints the Christian lifts up his 
heart and thanks God that our Lord is a living Christ, 
and we are not concerned about his tomb, but we 
look forward to his throne, a throne of life eternal. 

The road to Nejef leads under the shadow of Birs 


106 Dust and Ashes of Empires 

Nimrud, or Borsippa, which is the traditional Tower 
of Babel. There is a mighty mound high above the 
plain on top of which is a chimneylike structure of well- 
burned brick about fifty to sixty feet high and sheer. 
The sight from a distance is impressive in the ex¬ 
treme, and no wonder that the travelers thought of 
it as the Tower of Genesis. The fact is, we know 
from its inscriptions that the present building was 
erected about the time of Nebuchadnezzar, but on the 
ruins of older buildings, and was the holy city of that 
monarch. There are a number of outlying mounds 
around the main one, and all of these are covered 
with finely glazed potsherds and thickly strewn with 
small copper pieces, some of which are coins and 
some of them probably trinkets used as ornaments. 

The most interesting of all Babylonian remains 
is, of course, Babylon itself, and it was with genuine 
delight that we found ourselves camped in the midst 
of these splendid ruins. They are gigantic and im¬ 
pressive beyond description, stretching for miles 
along the river and exhibiting the remains of a civili¬ 
zation that started the world in the long ago and is 
still one of its great wonders. Babylon has played 
such a great part in the history of the world and has 
been so closely associated with religious history that 
it has bulked larger in the imagination than in reality. 

Herodotus, who was ever given to exaggeration, tells 
us that the city wall was, when he visited it about 
450 B.C., 480 stadia in circumference, 200 cubits 
high, and 50 cubits broad. This would be in modern 
times 5534 miles in circumferemce, 335 feet high, and 
83 feet broad. This was surrounded by a great ditch. 
Also the breadth of the wall was such that a four- 



BORSIPPA, THE SO-CALLED TOWER OF BABEL. TEN 
MILES FROM BABYLON. 



THE GATE OF ISHTAR, BABYLON. 
Original Mosaics. 
































































107 


Babylon the Fallen 

horse chariot could turn around on it and still leave 
room for the chambers built upon it and facing each 
other. In these walls were a hundred gates of brass. 
The Euphrates divided the city, and there were walls 
next the river on both banks and great fortifications 
to guard these river approaches. The palace of the 
king was on one side of the river and the Temple of 
Belus on the other. The streets were arranged at 
right angles; presumably each street ran to a gate, 
and cross streets ran to the gates correspondingly on 
the other sides. The houses were three and four 
stories high. Across the river there was a bridge 
which he says was built by Nitocris. The mighty 
Temple of Belus he describes as a tower in stages, with 
an exterior winding ascent leading from one stage to 
another, with a resting place about halfway up for 
visitors, and the top was surmounted by a spacious 
chapel, in which were a richly covered bed and a 
table of pure gold. ^ 

Ctesias makes the size of the city much smaller 
and mentions a square lake and also the Hanging 
Gardens, which he says measured four hundred feet 
each way, rising in terraces and covered with enough 
earth to sustain the large trees that grew there. 

Nebuchadnezzar himself describes the city which 
he did most to embellish, giving more attention to the 
E-Sagila than to any other part of his description. 
He says he built the shrine of Marduk and covered 
its walls with massive gold, lapis lazuli, and white 
limestone. He speaks of the two gates of the temple 
and the place of assembly, where the oracles were 
made known, and calls E-Sagila “the temple of the 
foundations of the heavens and the earth.” He speaks 


108 Dust and Ashes of Empires 

of raising the head of the Tower of Babel in burnt 
brick and lapis lazuli, describes the building of the 
defenses which his father had undertaken, and of 
bricking the banks of the Euphrates, digging the 
moat, erecting a series of buildings, and constructing 
the sacred way from the shining gate. One palace he 
mentions as having been erected in the incredible 
space of fifteen days. He does not mention the 
Hanging Gardens. 

All of these accounts must be taken with ample 
consideration for the time in which they were told 
and the purposes involved as well as the character of 
the historians. 

Babylon means “Gate of the God,” a city of un¬ 
known antiquity, but certainly in existence when 
history dawns. It is mentioned in Genesis x. 10, 
along with the ancient cities of Erech and Calneh. 
It reached its greatest glory, so far as we know, in that 
period from the ascension of Nebopolassar (625 B. C.) 
to the conquest of Alexander (ca. 383). Perhaps its 
highest prosperity was under Nebuchadnezzar II., 
the son and successor of Nabopolassar. 

Its walls to-day stand in ruins, about ten miles in 
circumference and perhaps an average of twenty 
feet in height. These walls must represent about the 
size of the inner city of ancient times, though of 
course there may have been a much larger territory 
inclosed in outer walls, but no trace of them remains. 
Nebuchadnezzar mentions the building of a median 
wall, which presumably reached from the Euphrates 
to the Tigris, a distance of perhaps twenty-five miles. 
But no trace of it is to be seen to-day. There are 
immense canals, which are very ancient, and travel- 


109 


Babylon the Fallen 

ers are sometimes deceived by these, for they look 
much like walls and are in some cases even higher 
than the present walls. Some of these were dug as 
early as the sixth century before Christ. The inclo¬ 
sure shows indications of having contained farms, 
and some of the ancient writers mention sufficient 
farms and palm groves within the city walls to sus¬ 
tain the inhabitants through a long siege. It is quite 
likely that there were many villages on the outside 
of the walls and all over the country which were 
attached to the city and accounted as a part of it. 

But even with these limitations it is a very great 
city, great even in its magnificent ruins. The Ger¬ 
mans who had been excavating here up to the war 
and for fifteen years previous have done an excellent 
piece of work, uncovering palace after palace, temple 
after temple, and city on top of city, and yet the 
work is only half done, whole sections of the city be¬ 
ing yet untouched. 

The central attraction of the ruins is the Gate of 
Ishtar, with its wonderful mosaics, mighty brick 
walls, with lions, bulls, and mythical animals in mo¬ 
saic work as fine as any to be found to-day. The 
masonry is unexcelled and the design attractive. Over 
against this is the palace of Nabopolassar, with an 
arched doorway, probably the house in which Neb¬ 
uchadnezzar was born. All this Nebuchadnezzar 
covered over in the building of his sacred way, build¬ 
ing himself a second palace farther north, and 
building these walls up until they formed a bridge 
over which he built a road of glazed brick, carrying 
out the design of the lower temple in its mosaics. 
This roadway led from his palace doorway, straight 


110 Dust and Ashes of Empires] 

across the palace of his father and his father’s temple 
and out across the bridge which he built over the 
river, and then across the country for ten or twelve 
miles to the other sacred city of Borsippa, which has 
often been identified with the Towel of Babel and is 
now known as Birs Nimrud. Over this sacred way 
he had the image of his god, Marduk, carried in holi¬ 
day procession on feast days. After a while he tired 
of this great palace and built another one a mile far¬ 
ther north, constructed of red brick and often called 
the Red Mound, but by many called Babel. Standing 
on this, I detected a line of roadway straight across the 
old and already discovered sacred way. Far out to the 
east are two other mounds, one of which has been par¬ 
tially excavated and found to be a Greek theater, 
while the large mound next to it may have been the 
palace of Alexander the Great, who died in this city 
and who is supposed to have built a palace, which, 
however, has never been found. Going from this 
point to the southwest, the Merkes is approached, 
and over against this are the ruins of the Kasr, while 
in between is a level, low space over which we sup¬ 
pose Sennacherib turned the waters of the river in 
his fury. We had found so many remains that we 
said: Here is one place where no city was; but hardly 
had the words been spoken when we almost stumbled 
into a deep hole, forty feet deep, at the bottom of 
which were clearly defined stone walls, arches, and an 
aqueduct, the remains of the city of Hammurabi, 
which was a thriving place fifteen hundred years be¬ 
fore Nebuchadnezzar was born. The E-Sagila group 
is a mighty pile of yellow dirt, full of excavation holes 
and exhibiting much broken pottery and many signs 


Ill 


Babylon the Fallen 

of life in ages gone by. Almost in the center of this 
is a deep hole, eighty feet deep and almost as large in 
diameter, which has been excavated and proved to 
be the remains of the great Temple of Marduk, whose 
core must have been entirely of mud brick, and of 
course faced with burnt brick and glazed tile. It 
was a stupendous building and surrounded by many 
other huge piles. 

Near this is the great ruin, known as the Tower of 
Babel, which Nebuchadnezzar says he raised with 
burnt brick. This has been excavated to a great 
depth and stands as a pool of water, out of which 
grow the reeds just as they grew in the vicinity thou¬ 
sands of years ago. From the west side of this runs 
out the bridgehead, and its piles can be traced to the 
water's edge—the bridge of Nebuchadnezzar, which 
not only spanned the Euphrates, but connected the 
two parts of the city. 

As one stands in the midst of the Kasr, he can 
hardly realize how such desolation could be possible, 
for on every side of him is the most bewildering maze 
of ruins to be seen anywhere on earth. In the midst 
of it is the Temple of Ishtar, beyond that the old 
palace of Nabopolassar; to the left as he looks east 
is the newer palace of Nebuchadnezzar, while on the 
northern slopes of the mound are the remains of 
great unknown buildings made from burnt bricks of 
bright yellow, which look extremely modern. One 
great pile of burnt glass and brick must have been 
subjected to fire of fiercest heat, while nearer the 
river are remains of a much older period. By far the 
larger area of all of this is the palace platform of 
Nabopolassar, which covers acres of ground, and 


112 Dust and Ashes of Empires 

most of the bricks are still in place, many of which are 
inscribed. From this to the west lead chariot ways 
in gradual decline to a lower level. Here and there 
is a deep excavation, laying bare the remains of still 
older cities—barrels of pottery, bushels of human 
bones, with here and there on the upper pavements 
a Parthian coffin in terra cotta, and farther on high 
walls of brick masonry, beside which are deep wells. 
Massive stones of almost every kind are found here 
and there, and these were all brought from some 
other land. 

I dug out from under these pavements some valu¬ 
able documents—two Jewish burial bowls dating 
perhaps from the time of the captivity, and many 
other things. I brought back one of the bricks bear¬ 
ing the name and inscription of Nebuchadnezzar. 

It was the custom of the kings of that ancient 
world to attempt in many ways to preserve their 
records of righteous facts. They left these records 
on many bricks and on many tablets; but after all 
this was done a king would have barrel cylinders 
made, baked of the finest clay, and inscribed by the 
best of the scribes. When a great temple was built, 
four of these would be placed in the temple tower, 
one at each corner, to preserve the name of the king 
who built the temple. Another one was furnished 
the king for burial under his palace pavement, where 
he placed it without the knowledge of anyone, so that 
it would be safe from destruction and would insure 
the preservation of the king's religious record. It is 
the desire of every archaeologist to find one of these, 
which are very rare. While digging under the pave¬ 
ment of the palace of Nabopolassar, I had the good 


Babylon the Fallen 113 

fortune to dig out the one belonging to that great 
king, the father of the conqueror of Jerusalem. 

The land of Mesopotamia is practically without 
law. Things are extremely uncertain as to owner¬ 
ship; and if you find anything worth while and it is 
known, you may have trouble in working out the red 
tape and meeting the conditions by which you get 
out of the country with that which normally be¬ 
longs to you. The only thing I can say is that when 
I arrived in America I still had that cylinder, and it 
is now a precious possession of Emory University. 

It is beyond the possibility of human speech to de¬ 
scribe Babylon the Great. First of all, it is in the 
most beautiful spot in all of Babylonia. The Hillah 
branch of the Euphrates, which was once the main 
channel of the river, makes a half circle around the 
ruins as they are to-day. Within this circle is a very 
green patch of vegetation, including many date palms. 
There are also marshes, filled with marsh grass and 
inhabited by myriads of croaking frogs, and the 
river is lined with willow thickets. I brought home 
a box of willows, but found when I returned home 
that some one had written a book to prove that wil¬ 
lows never did grow on the Euphrates. 

We had a full moon while we were camped in the 
ruins, and the nights were especially beautiful. Our 
camp house was the one used by the German exca¬ 
vators, and we would sit on the roof at night and 
watch the sun set over behind the thin line of date 
palm trees on the other side of the river, reflecting 
them in the silver sheen of water. One night I saw 
the shadow of a wading crane stepping carefully 
along in the water. I never did see the crane—only 
8 


114 Dust and Ashes of Empires 

his shadow. With the stupendous ruins behind us, 
the curving river in front, the long stretch of silver 
water, and the setting sun, the whole scene was one 
of indescribable beauty. But I thought of another 
night, when a large group of weary and footsore pil¬ 
grims, or rather prisoners, reached this spot, after 
the long march across the desert, when their beloved 
Jerusalem had been destroyed and all their fondest 
dreams had come to a sudden end; and sitting here 
by this river, around their camp fires, having come 
to the end of their journey; and I thought of a He¬ 
brew singer who, reminiscent of this occasion, out of 
a broken heart and singing only as a broken heart 
can sing, uttered the one hundred and thirty- 
seventh Psalm: 

“By the rivers of Babylon, 

There we sat down, yea, we wept, 

When we remembered Zion. 

Upon the willows in the midst thereof 
We hanged our harps. 

For there they that led us captive required of us songs, 
And they that wasted us required of us mirth, saying, 

Sing us one of the songs of Zion. 

How shall we sing Jehovah’s song 
In a strange land? 

If I forget thee, 0 Jerusalem, 

Let my right hand forget her skill. 

Let my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth. 

If I prefer not Jerusalem 
Above my chief joy.” 

And then as they remembered the bitter experiences 
of a few days ago, how the Babylonian officers cried 
on the streets of their beloved Jerusalem, ''Raze it, 
raze it, even unto the foundations thereof,” it was 
no wonder that they cried: “0 daughter of Babylon, 


BY THE RIVERS OF BABYLON. 

Where the ancient Euphrates winds its way through the ruins. See Psalm cxxxvii. 








































































































































































































Babylon the Fallen 


115 


who art to be destroyed; happy shall he be, that tak- 
eth and dasheth thy little ones against the stones." 

There is in the midst of the Kasr ruins a huge black 
lion made of dolorite and crudely carved to represent 
the likeness of a lion standing over the form of a fall¬ 
en man. This lion, which is thought to be the work 
of Hittite sculptors, who did not finish the job, was 
done in a very far-off period of the world's history. 
He was there before Babylon was there, and here he 
stands through all the ages, watching the processes 
of civilization. Had he a mind and a voice what 
could he say to us to-day! How much of human his¬ 
tory has passed under his very nose! 

As one stands amid the ruins and contemplates 
what history has taken place on this spot, a feeling of 
awe steals over him. Here thousands and thousands 
of years ago lived the Hittites, that strange people 
whose history is only just beginning to emerge out 
of the dusk of the past. They built a city—when, 
we do not know. Then came the Sumerians, whose 
civilization was very great and who left us many 
wonderful documents, some of them strangely like 
our own Scriptures; but where they came from we do 
not know. Here Sargon I. founded a mighty empire; 
Hammurabi, the fourth king of the first Semitic Dy¬ 
nasty, wrote his laws, and went out from this plain 
of Shinar to the vale of Siddim to fight with Abraham 
and the allied kings of the valley of the Dead Sea. 
Here Nebuchadnezzar II. became the ancient world's 
greatest builder, erecting palace after palace and 
temple after temple, his Hanging Gardens being one 
of the wonders of the world. From here he went out 
to the conquest of Judah, and here the exiles came. 


116 j Dust and Ashes of Empires 

Over these very pavements walked Ezekiel, Israel's 
greatest prophet, and, looking up at these mosaic 
walls, may have found illustration for some of his 
weird figures. Throughout these halls Daniel's 
voice sounded, second only in command to the king. 
On these walls the hand of God wrote the doom of 
Belshazzar, while through this very river bed came 
the conquering army of Cyrus, and over these fields 
marched the men of Darius, while in the streets of 
this ancient city, already ancient then, Alexander 
the Great trained his men for the conquest of the 
world, and here he breathed his last. 

But amid her splendors and the glories of the past 
can yet be heard the cry of the prophet, “Babylon 
shall be as heaps," and that is just what she is to-day. 
Her splendid palaces and magnificent walls, her won¬ 
derful civilizations are no more, while the poor He¬ 
brew slaves who lived and labored here are immortal, 
and such names as Daniel and Ezekiel transcend a 
thousand times over those of Nebuchadnezzar and 
Darius. Once again the weird cry comes to us, 
“Babylon is fallen!" 


CHAPTER X 

Bagdad: The City of the Caliphs 

On our way to Bagdad we went over the railroad 
which runs through the walled space of the city of 
Babylon and has a stop, a flag station, known as 
“ Babylon Stop,” and then on over a level plain, 
oftentimes desert, but again showing signs of fertil¬ 
ity and irrigation, also the remains of ancient cities. 
There are many mounds along this journey of fifty 
miles, most of which are entirely unknown. 

We found a large British force in Bagdad under 
the command of Gen. Percy Hambro, a very genial 
Britisher, who showed us no little kindness. He was 
very much interested in archaeology and often went 
with us on our surveys. Three of us were billeted at 
the officers' club and two at the home of General 
Hambro, which was an interesting house whose ve¬ 
randas jutted out over the Tigris River. 

Bagdad is a city of about two hundred thousand 
people, fifty thousand of whom are Jews of the cap¬ 
tivity. The city is the most important one in Mes¬ 
opotamia, but it is only a shadow of what it must 
have been in the glorious days of the mighty Caliphs, 
the city of old Harun-al-Rashid, the hero of the “Ara¬ 
bian Nights.” However, many of the picturesque 
characters of that famous old book are still to be 
seen, and one is often reminded of his childhood de¬ 
light in reading of the barber and the porter and 
other familiar characters of Bagdad. 


(117) 


118 Dust and Ashes of Empires 

The city is cut in two by the Tigris River, which 
was at flood while we were there. The larger portion 
of the city, however, is on the east bank. The streets 
are extremely narrow and filthy, though the British 
are doing all they can to improve conditions, espe¬ 
cially in matters of sanitation. One long, wide street 
has been cut through the city and terminates at the 
Maude bridge, built across the river on iron boats 
which are anchored to large buoys and named in 
honor of the great English general who captured Bag¬ 
dad and later gave his life in trying to become familiar 
with the needs of the Arabs. There are two bridges, 
the other being called the North bridge. 

Part of the old city walls still exists, and many an¬ 
cient buildings or their remains are to be seen. The 
British government is laying out a new city, planting 
trees, putting in water systems, and arranging parks 
and so forth for the use of the British army and a 
colony at least of officers' families. 

Bagdad was known for a long time as New Baby¬ 
lon and was perhaps founded when the old Babylon 
was finally destroyed. There are still embankments 
made with bricks inscribed by Nebuchadnezzar II.; 
but these may have been brought from old Babylon. 
The floor of the room in which we stayed was of 
bricks, showing remains of glazing and perhaps trans¬ 
ported from Babylon; in fact, much of the old city 
may have been built the same way, just as Hillah and 
Seleucia were built. In very ancient times there was 
a city there, but the present city was built or founded 
in 763 A.D. by El Mausflr, the second Caliph of the 
Abbasside dynasty. It reached its highest prosper¬ 
ity under Harun-al-Rashid, about 800 A.D. The 


Bagdad: The City of the Caliphs 119 

city was pillaged in the thirteenth century by the 
Mongol hordes. It is a city of mosques, some of 
them very beautiful, notably the Blue Mosque of 
Bagdad and the wonderful mosque of Qademain, 
where the Shiite Mohammedans have their central 
worship. The Shiite mosques always have four min¬ 
arets, or towers, which are covered with gold 
leaf and can be seen for many miles in the sunlight. 
Bagdad is a Shiite city, the Sunnites being much in 
the minority here. These are the two sects that di¬ 
vide the Moslem world. Shiite means heretic, and 
Sunnite means orthodox. The city is quite pictur¬ 
esque in spite of its run-down condition. 

There are many storks to be seen on the buildings. 
Some of these build on the low chimneys or roofs, 
while others choose the high domes of the mosques. 
There are many men from many lands in the city, but 
all of them speak a common language, and for the 
most part have a common religion. Of the two hun¬ 
dred thousand inhabitants, it is said that one hundred 
and twenty thousand are Moslems, while fifty 
thousand are Jews, fifteen thousand Chaldean 
Christians, and the remainder scattered. The 
Jews are different from any other Jews known. They 
dress in extremely gaudy costumes of rich colors and 
with much adornment. There are a number of syna¬ 
gogues. The streets are too narrow for vehicles. 
General Hambro sent a Ford around to show us the 
city and with it an Indian driver. The driver took 
us to the bazaars and into the heart of the city, where 
we soon found our Ford jammed in between two walls 
and unable to go farther. We tried to back out and 


120 Dust and Ashes of Empires 

knocked down a corner of the building. We found 
that the law forbade vehicles entering the bazaar dis¬ 
trict. 

The American consul, Mr. 0. M. Heiser, who had 
already distinguished himself in consular service at 
Constantinople, was lingering here, hoping to go back 
to Turkey, while Mr. C. R. Owens, an Alabamian, 
was busily engaged as Mr. Heiser’s successor. Both 
of these men showed us much kindness. Personally 
I was very much indebted to Mr. Owens. He is a 
fine man, and the government will never have reason 
to regret the responsibilities which they have intrust¬ 
ed to him. 

About twenty miles south of Bagdad are the ruins 
of Ctesephon, the remains of a city which must have 
exceeded all others of this land at some time or other 
for magnificence, but whose history is extremely ob¬ 
scure. It is a small mound, on the banks of the river, 
out of which rise two immense fragments—one a wall 
highly decorated with brickwork and standing per¬ 
haps one hundred and forty feet high. The other 
is a hallway, perfectly arched, which rises one hun¬ 
dred and twenty-one and one-half feet above the 
pavement. It is eighty-fwo feet wide and one hun¬ 
dred and sixty-four feet long and is called the au¬ 
dience room of the white palace of the kings. It is 
called by the natives Tak-i-Kesra, or Arch of Chosran. 
It may have been built by the Parthians about 150 
B.C. 

Just across the river from Ctesephon are the few 
remaining ruins of Seleucia, a city founded soon after 
the death of Alexander the Great, and which has al- 


Bagdad: The City of the Caliphs 121 

most disappeared. Between Bagdad and Ctesephon 
there are many green fields and well-irrigated farms, 
growing for the most part wheat and barley. 

Some ten miles northwest of Bagdad is a curious 
chimneylike ruin, known as Akurquf, which it is 
thought was a step pyramid and perhaps built by 
the Cassites around 1500 B.C. A hundred years ago 
it was taken for the site of the Tower of Babel. It, 
too, is surrounded by small mounds, but little is 
known as to its origin. 

There is a good deal of vegetation in the vicinity 
of Bagdad, and the river brings refreshment and 
sometimes beauty. Nevertheless I have seen but 
few places more undesirable as a place in which to 
live and do well. Europeans and Americans have 
an everlasting fight against disease, while filth and 
flies are the order of the day. All water is chlorinated 
and repulsive to the taste, the air is full of dust, and 
the inhabitants are disgusting. It is to be hoped that 
the British will clean it up, modernize some phases 
of it, and make it a more desirable place in which to 
exist. 

The American School of Archaeological Research, 
which is doing such fine work at Jerusalem, desires 
to open also a school here. One of our traveling 
companions up from Bombay was Bishop Frank W. 
Warne, of India, who was on his way to Bagdad to 
look into the feasibility of establishing a Methodist 
mission there. The British Commissioner of Edu¬ 
cation for Mesopotamia, Major Bowman, was trying 
hard to organize the younger life of the place and 
bring something out of it, and succeeded in bringing 


122 Dust and Ashes of Empires 

together a large troop or number of troops of Boy 
Scouts, while the Presbyterian missionaries are do¬ 
ing their best for the refugees at Bakuba, of whom 
there were about forty thousand, mostly Armenians 
from Persia. So there are many forces at work, and 
possibly something may be done for these miserable 
people. 


CHAPTER XI 
Up the Tigris 

While sojourning at Bagdad, we had the misfor¬ 
tune to meet a Chaldean bishop and to find that he 
had attached himself to our party, a fact that was so 
well settled in his mind that it took us two weeks 
to convince him that we were not directly under his 
care and that his personal expense account was not 
a matter for our consideration. His name was 
Khayatt, and his seat was in Mosul, from which 
place he made regular pastoral visits to Bagdad and 
elsewhere. He wore a long, black robe and fierce, 
black whiskers. His Church is known as “The 
Uniate Church”—that is to say, it has the sanction 
both of the East and of the West. Both Rome and 
Constantinople recognized it, and all our bishop had 
to do to change Churches was to change his hat. 
While in Mosul he always wore the high Greek hat, 
but immediately on leaving the city he would put 
on the flat hat of Rome, and presto! he was a Latin 
bishop. He gave us much worry, butting in every¬ 
where and making himself a general and never-to- 
be-forgotten nuisance. We left Bagdad late in the 
evening with a compartment built for six. There 
were five of us and all of our baggage, and the old 
bishop desired to occupy quarters with us, but we 
drew the line on sleeping with him. 

We arrived at Kalat Shergat about 10 a.m. and 
found a city of canvas lying along the foot of the 

(123) 


124 Dust and Ashes oj Empires 

plateau and overlooking the wide valley, with here 
and there a Bedouin camp. The beauty of the place 
almost atoned for its discomforts. The water was 
all but impossible; and the British officers' mess was 
the worst we had found, on account of their inability 
to secure the proper supplies. We fared badly. 

We soon found ourselves examining the mound of 
Kalat Shergat, which represents the most ancient 
city of Assyria. It is a huge mound built on the 
jutting plateau and its foundations are laid in great 
bowlders of pure alabaster, of the most exquisite 
colors. Each bowlder would have cost a fortune in 
some other locality; but here the very hills are ala¬ 
baster, and all the workmen had to do was quarry 
it on a higher level than the city itself, and it was an 
easy matter to transport it down hill to the place of 
its use. The work of excavation was done by the 
Germans and is said to be the best and most complete 
job in Mesopotamia, though it seemed to me that 
very much remained to be done. 

Nobody knows who founded this city, nor what 
people lived here in the first place. It was captured 
perhaps from the Hittites by an unknown people 
who may have come from farther north or northeast, 
from the mountains. They worshiped the god of the 
city who was called Assur, Ashur, or Osir (perhaps 
Osiris?), and these people became known as the 
Ashurians, or Assyrians, and dominated this whole 
country from here to the Kurdish Mountains. They 
finally conquered Babylonia, Syria, and Egypt, and 
in some ways were the greatest of all these peoples. 

The ruins exhibit startling massive structures— 
high walls which were once washed by the waters of 


125 


Up the Tigris 

the Tigris, great temples whose towers still stand so 
steep as to be very difficult of ascent. Both burnt 
and unburnt bricks were used and many inscriptions 
were left us. Amid the ruins there are many wells 
which are very deep. The city, which was perhaps 
the wonder of the ancient world, was beautifully 
situated on the sandstone plateau, with long views, 
both up and down the winding river. From the 
heights of the towers a wide sweep of the high prai¬ 
ries met the vision and perhaps furnished a place of 
safety to the watchers on the city walls in the days 
when the world was young. Looking down the river, 
there is a line of fine hills against which the waters 
of the Tigris hurl themselves in fury and are thrown 
back toward the east. Far to the north is another 
range of low hills against which the cloud shadows 
play, for we are once more in the rain belt, while in 
between is a very wide valley pastured by multitudes 
of sheep, and ever and anon one finds a bed of an 
ancient water course which came down from the 
highlands and which has long ago ceased to be useful. 
Here and there are the brown tents of the Bedouin, 
but nowhere is to be seen village or house. The air is 
extremely bracing after the heat and oppressing 
atmosphere of Babylonia and Bagdad, where disease 
breeds in the very air you breathe and expecially in 
the dust that fills the lungs. Here the breezes seem 
to come from the snow-capped hills far to the north¬ 
west. We were, however, in a dangerous country 
and one in which “ every prospect pleases and only 
man is vile.” 

The excavations at Ashur, begun by the Germans 
in 1903, have revealed some very interesting remains. 


126 Dust and Ashes of Empires 

The grave of Sennacherib II. was found and many 
sculptures of great artistic value, consisting of urns 
and other antiquities. The Assyrians are known to 
have been in charge of this city earlier than 2000 
B.C., and some think that it was colonized from 
Lagash about 3000 B.C., but it may have been cap¬ 
tured from a people who were much earlier. 

One night, just before we passed on to the north, 
I went up on the hills above the camp and contem¬ 
plated the scenery at the magic hour of sunset, an 
hour that is never so magic as in the East. Here on 
the hills a magnificent view of the whole wide 
Tigris valley was had, with the old city of Ashur, 
three miles to the right, and the highlands rolling 
back to the west, where the setting sun was half 
hidden behind drifting clouds, black as ravens on 
their way to roost. The peculiar phenomenon was 
that this beautiful sunset was not the fiery red that 
might be expected, but rather a gentle silver, like a 
great mirror across whose face passed these black 
clouds, while from far to the north the river could be 
seen winding its sinuous way amid the green valleys, 
itself showing the sheen of silver, and on the other 
side were the hills reflecting the splendors of the sun¬ 
set. Sentries on each peak of the hills behind me kept 
watch by day and by night, for just beyond, some¬ 
where, lurked the hidden foe. 

During the night a storm came up and nearly 
tore down our tent, the rain fell, but our faithful 
boys were soon on the job and all was well. The next 
morning we were off on a long and perilous journey. 
There were nine autos, two of which carried mail, 
while five were ours. Each was required to have a 


127 


Up the Tigris 

guard. The Arabs had warned the British that they 
intended making a raid on this caravan, and when 
we came back to Shergat we found that an officer had 
gone out to the mound to sketch and never came 
back, but his body was found where he had been 
clubbed from behind and brutally maltreated. Near 
the mound of Ashur is a great pile of unexploded 
shells which we took pictures of, but did not touch. 
We were afterwards told that some Arabs tried 
getting the brass from them and were blown into 
kingdom come. This was the last great battle of the 
Mesopotamian campaign, where the British crossed 
the river and cut off the Turkish army, playing 
havoc with them. 

The country lying between Shergat and Mosul 
reminds one very much of our Western prairie lands. 
There are two routes, one by way of the river valley 
and the other over the uplands some distance away 
from the river. This upland is a rolling prairie with 
good grass which seems to be a kind of wild timothy 
and very plentiful. What a cattle country this 
would be! And there are very few cattle in all the 
Near East. Our caravan often found itself running 
through thousands of acres of wild oats, and only 
here and there, widely separated, were to be seen 
Bedouin camps with their small herds of sheep and 
occasionally a herd of camels. The whole land is 
beautiful, the wide stretches of grass lands covered 
with green grass and gloriously inset with blood-red 
poppies. All of that country known in ancient times 
as Assyria is within the rain belt and covered with 
vegetation, but almost wholly uninhabited. If some 
enterprising Americans could go in there and stock 


128 Dust and Ashes of Empires 

the land with cattle and be prepared to defend 
themselves against thieving and open banditry, it 
surely could be made to return wonderful dividends. 

After passing the very small village of Jaineh, we 
came to the semi-cultivated fields where wheat and 
oats seem to grow half wild and half cultivated; but 
strangely enough there were few signs of life, and 
the farmers who owned these fields seemed mysteri¬ 
ous. Later in the day we passed a plowman who 
was laboriously tilling his field with two small donkeys 
hitched to a wooden plow of the same style as that 
used by his ancestors for thousands of years. 

We are now on the alabaster cliffs, with a view over 
the valley of the Tigris calculated to make the best 
landscape artist mad with envy. What a fine, fertile 
valley it is, with the ancient river winding down 
through the wide plain, and on the river bank, the 
west bank, the large city of Mosul. This rich valley 
was once the home of a people so prosperous, possess¬ 
ing cities of great wealth and beauty, that they for¬ 
got God. Over this same roadway came the prophet 
Jonah, and I can imagine, as he came after his long, 
long journey across the desert and from his own 
rocky homeland, what strange emotions must have 
stirred his heart as he came here, looked down from 
these alabaster hills to the wonderful valley and the 
glittering towers of the mighty cities, and brought 
them the message of God that drove them to re¬ 
pentance and salvation. After the weeks of traveling 
over the blistering sands of the Syrian desert, he 
may have come to the very spot on which we stood 
that day and have looked down on a land teeming 


Up the Tigris 129 

with life and labor, bespeaking an unparalleled 
prosperity. 

As our caravan winds down over the road that 
leads to the river and the rich valley below, we can 
discern that we are in the country that is still com¬ 
paratively well off, considering the fortunes of war 
and the aloofness from the world. The fields are 
partly cultivated and there are orchards of fruit and 
other signs of life. When you lift your eyes and look 
over this valley your vision is arrested by the eternal 
snows of the Kurdish Mountains to the northeast. 

The city of Mosul has about forty thousand 
people, seven thousand of whom are Christians. 
The Chaldeans and the French Catholics predomi¬ 
nate. It was a city of great importance in the 
Middle Ages, and so great was its reputation for the 
manufacture of cloth that our word “muslin” comes 
from the name, Mosul, perhaps because it was first 
made here. 

There are a number of wonderful mosques, with 
stately minarets, some of which are leaning badly. 
The city is filthy and badly decayed, though there 
are some splendid Turkish homes here. Colonel 
Leachman was the British political officer before he 
went to Abul Kamal, where we were to meet him 
later and near which he was to give his life for the 
cause of his country. He did a very shrewd thing 
in his arrangement of Mosul. The first thing the 
British try to do after entering a city is to get one or 
two streets wide enough for vehicles; and Leachman, 
wishing to do the best thing for Mosul, planned to 
cut two streets through the city, crossing each other 
in the center. To do this seemed impossible on 
9 


130 Dust and Ashes of Empires 

account of the expense. But he hit upon this plan: 
He sent through all the districts traversed by these 
streets and assessed the property for taxes, allowing 
each man to put his own estimate of value on his 
property. This they all did without the slightest 
suspicion that it was for any other purpose than 
that of taxation; and so, as their American brothers 
would have done, they placed the least possible value 
on it, which value was accepted by the British and 
then their property was condemned at their own 
valuation and they were paid accordingly. Some 
curious results came from this street-making process. 
Many of the Turkish houses were cut in two, showing 
the method of building and room decoration and 
many things of which the public is ignorant, on ac¬ 
count of the difficulty in getting into Turkish houses. 

The walls of these houses were built mostly of 
rubble and debris , among which were many earthen¬ 
ware jars and vessels of different sorts, placed there 
for the purpose of breaking the force of the heat. 
As I walked through the streets I wondered what 
secrets these old rooms held of intrigue, murder, and 
injustice to women and children through the many 
centuries of their existence. 

The city walls still remain, quite intact and ex¬ 
tensive, with many towers and buttresses. The 
bazaars of Mosul are quite interesting, especially 
those of the coppersmiths and money changers. 
Also, the merchants seem very strange to a Western¬ 
er, sitting in their little booths only large enough to 
accommodate the merchant himself, who sits on the, 
floor with his goods piled on shelves around him. I 
suppose the average size of a dry goods store is not 


131 


Up the Tigris 

more than six feet square. In all of the Near East, 
the bazaars, which they call “sukhs,” are very much 
alike. Different commodities are in different sec¬ 
tions, so the buyer who wishes to buy meat must 
go to the bazaar of the butchers, or if it is cloth, to 
the cloth merchants' bazaar. Each section has its guild 
of merchants who stand together much as labor unions, 
and these are passed down from father to son for 
generations. In the bazaar of the money changers 
you will find many people from “ foreign lands,” 
these foreign lands usually being twenty or thirty 
miles away. But it must be remembered that Mosul 
is at the parting of the ways, being the highest city 
of Mesopotamia on the borders of Turkey, Kurdistan, 
and Persia. 

One can hardly understand what these people 
have been through in the war. You will remember 
that at Basrah we engaged as our cook a boy who 
gave as his reason for wishing to go with us that he was 
a Mosul-Arab, and that he had neither been at home 
nor heard from home in ten years and that he wished 
to visit his people. So as we neared the city of his 
birth Ali Mustapha was all attention. He crawled 
up on the wagon nearest the front and looked with 
emotion on the scene as we came upon the alabaster 
cliffs overlooking the city. When we arrived and 
were located, Ali at once asked for permission to go 
visit his family, and we told him to go and not come 
back until morning. Two hours later Ali was back 
with a very sad countenance. I asked him why he 
did not remain for the night with his family. He 
said “Family all finish'—that is, they were all dead, 
His father, uncle, brothers, mother, and one aunt 


132 Dust and Ashes of Empires 

had died of famine. He had two little sisters left, so 
he drew all the pay coming to him and gave it to 
them. He asked that he might go on with us, which 
he did, even to Chicago; and as long as the expedition 
was together Ali was the most faithful of servants. 

The Tigris River sweeps around the walls of 
Mosul, and at the time of year we were there it was 
at the flood. It is exceedingly strange how little 
change takes place along this river. Another thing 
that strikes the traveler as peculiar is the fact that 
customs are different here from those of the Euphra¬ 
tes and always have been. There are on the Tigris 
strange boats, made of matting, daubed inside and 
out with bitumen, perfectly round, and some of them 
are very large. These curious things, called “gufas,” 
were in use on the Tigris when the very earliest 
monuments were made, and are still very useful. 

Another curious custom, that has been going on 
through all history, is the use of inflated skins to 
bear up the body of the swimmer in crossing the 
river. Early inscriptions show them in use, in time 
both of peace and of war. It is now no uncommon 
sight to see several natives coming down the stream 
on these strange carriers. They blow up the skin 
and then, placing their bodies over it, hold the mouth 
of it with the hand, letting out or blowing in air as 
it pleases them, much as a balloon is handled. 

It is pitiful, always, in any Arab country to observe 
the condition of women. Here at Mosul they carry 
the water from the river for a very long distance. 
One evening I met a little girl who carried on her 
shoulder a water jar that held perhaps two or three 
gallons, and she seemed to be only about six years 


133 


Up the Tigris 

old. I asked her to allow me to take her picture, 
but she screamed and ran like a scared rabbit and 
I did not get a very good likeness of her as she ran. 
Another thing is the custom of mourning for the 
dead. The friends gather at the graves on Thurs¬ 
days and literally howl. On Sundays we attended 
service at the French Catholic Church, which has 
been here for a very long time. 

On the east side of Mosul there is a curious Turkish 
bridge, built on stone piers, but reaching only about 
two-thirds across the river. During low water a 
pontoon bridge completes the span. This is Turkish 
efficiency. We were under the necessity of ferrying 
across in boats made of goods boxes and scraps in 
general. Our ferryman would start us far up the 
stream, the swift current would sweep us far down¬ 
stream, sturdy rowers would pull up on the other 
side until we reached the point opposite our starting 
place, then we would ride pickaback out to dry land. 


CHAPTER XII 
Nineveh, “That Great City 

The present ruins of the old city of Nineveh lie 
one mile east of the Tigris and directly opposite 
Mosul. The walls of the city remain in a very good 
state of preservation, though covered with soil and 
grass, and are approximately fifty feet high. The 
original walls must have stood much higher. They 
have a circumference of twelve miles and show signs 
of having had gates, at least on the north and east. 
There are giant remains of two great citadels or 
palace platforms. The northern one is called Kuny- 
unjik and the other one Tel Neby Yunus—that is, 
the Mound of the Prophet Jonah. These two mounds 
rise to a height of more than one hundred feet. 
There are more than twenty-five acres on the top of 
Kunjunjik, and at the time of our visit this was in 
barley, while the slopes of the hill were matted with 
a most gorgeous carpet of poppies. Here was the 
great palace of Ashurbanipal and of Sennacherib. 
It was very imperfectly excavated by Victor Place 
in the early part of the last century and later by 
Layard, who found the famous library of Ashurbani¬ 
pal, containing many thousands of clay tablets, 
representing almost all varieties of Babylonian and 
Assyrian literature of all the ages preceding the time 
of that powerful king. Some idea of the advanced 
state of that civilization can be had from the fact 
(134) 


Nineveh , “That Great City” 135 

that among these tablets were those giving direction 
to students in the use of the library. 

Excavations have been confined here to burrowing 
holes and taking out museum pieces; but in so doing 
the lines and walls of the temple and palace have 
been determined, and some idea of the grandeur of 
the place has been secured. 

The other mound, that of Neby Yunus, was the 
palace of Esarhaddon. It is a large mound and is 
covered partially by a miserable Arab village in the 
midst of which is a mosque which is said to contain 
the coffin of Jonah, and also there is a small dried- 
up fish which the Arabs confidently assert is the 
identical fish that swallowed Jonah. It is probable 
that the coffin in question is one of the many Par¬ 
thian coffins found on the mounds and made of most 
beautiful terra cotta, which had been brought here 
perhaps centuries ago and preserved for the deception 
of the public in general who would visit this shrine— 
not tourists, for tourists seldom come this way. It 
is, however, interesting to find an ancient tradition 
of the prophet Jonah here. Each of these mounds 
is on the walls, or rather in the walls, each forming 
a part of the wall and both on the west side of the 
city. The great difficulty in excavating Neby Yunus 
is in the fact that an Arab cemetery is on one part 
of the mound. This cemetery has pushed out along 
the wall, and one day we discovered here a man sitting 
by a new-made grave, reading prayers from the 
Koran. The dead man had failed to recite all the 
prayers required by the Koran during his life, and 
so his family or the administrator of his estate must 
provide for the fulfilling of this duty, either by some 


136 Dust and Ashes of Empires 

friend or relative performing the task or by hiring a 
professional praying man to do it for him. In one 
instance told at Nejef a wealthy man died; and when 
his life was summed up, it was found that he was 
so far behind with his praying that a very large sum 
of money had to be set aside from his estate to make 
up the discrepancy. At least this was one good way 
of disposing of his property. 

Nineveh was a most glorious city in its day. Its 
glory lasted from about 900 B.C. till its destruction, 
in 606 B.C., and with it went the last of mighty 
Assyria, which had arisen to a high place as a world 
power, dominating all of that land known to-day as 
the Near East and developing the most splendid 
civilization as to war, arts, sciences, and literature. 
It played a great part in the history of the ancient 
world and especially as it related itself to Israel and 
to Israel's prophets. To-day it is inhabited by owls 
and wild beasts, and in the midst of its marvelous 
walls are encamped the Indian soldiers of the British 
government. 

Fifteen miles north of Nineveh proper are the ruins 
of Khorsabad, which was called in ancient times Dur 
Sharrukin, or fortress of Sargon, a border city built 
by Sargon II., who reigned over Assyria from 722 to 
705 B.C., It lies on a ridge very near the mountains 
of Kurdistan and was at the time the finest palace 
of Western Asia. 

It was at first thought that we could not go into 
this dangerous territory, for -the Kurds are the 
fiercest of all the tribes of this region. Not long 
before our visit two British officers had gone out 
in the direction which we were to take and had not 


Nineveh, “That Great City” 


137 


returned. A searching party was able to find only a 
thigh bone of one of the men. These bloodthirsty 
scoundrels not only kill, but they delight in tearing 
the bodies to pieces afterwards. 

We crossed the river one morning early, having 
at last secured the consent of General Fraser, the 
British commandant, and found Red Cross vans 
awaiting us, each driven by a British Indian soldier, 
who was well armed and was particular to carry 
his rifle in his hand or by his side all day. A number 
of Kurds were seen during the day, but they seemed 
peaceable enough, and we reached the mound in 
safety. On top of the hill on which the ruin stands 
there is an Arab village, which was bought by 
Victor Place when he excavated here and which he 
moved away. Since then it has moved back again, 
and we were duly entertained in the house of the 
chief man, who had many relics of the days of the 
excavation long ago. Like Kunyunjik, this palace 
also contained about twenty-five acres and had great 
walls about it. These walls have never been exca¬ 
vated, and the natives showed us places where great 
inscriptions were easily uncovered, revealing the fact 
that much remains to be done even here. These 
walls were foursquare, with two gate pylons still 
visible. There are three mounds outside of the walls 
which must have been outer forts, and from the 
south one it looks as if a wall had led back to the city 
gate on that side. Near this south gate we uncovered 
an inscription which may have been one of the 
sphinxes, forming the approach to the gate itself as 
at Nimrud. It was, however, perfectly flat and 
presented a surface so even as to give the idea of a 


138 Dust and Ashes of Empires 

floor section. The whole city was near the north¬ 
west end of a long alabaster ridge, which forms a 
kind of foothills to the massive mountain piles 
farther back. The outlook to the south and west 
is wonderful—great rolling fields of green stretching 
far away to the river, which is not quite visible from 
here. This was Sargon's northern palace, which at 
once served for pleasure and protection. It is on the 
utmost frontier of his old empire and at the foot of 
this gigantic mountain range. In one direction 
stretch the green fields of the fertile plain, while on 
the other are the snow-capped peaks and mighty 
mountain piles. However, there is one thing curious 
about the location. If he had gone northward one 
mile to build this city, he would have had the finest 
view anywhere; and why he did not do this does not 
appear, but it must have been that he built, first of 
all, with an eye to the most strategic position. 

Twenty-five miles south of Nineveh was the 
splendid city of Nimrud, founded by Shalmaneser I. 
about 1300 B.C. and corresponding to the Biblical 
Calah (Gen. x. 11). This was one trip the British 
general told us could not be made; for, in addition 
to the regular dangers of the time, there was a certain 
bandit by the name of Haggi Nejef Effendi, or such 
was his title, which indicated that he had been a 
pilgrim and therefore a holy man and who owned 
thousands of acres of land, including twelve villages 
and the land on which our mound was located. 
He had in his employ something like one hundred 
and thirty bandits, to whom he paid salaries to rob 
and kill. So we were forbidden to go into that ter¬ 
ritory. We were very anxious to go, and finally 



LOOKING DOWN THE WALLS' OF NINEVEH FROM 
KUNYUNJIK TO NEBY YUNUS. 



HAVING DINNER WITH A BANDIT. 

Near Nimrud. The bandit sits between Drs. Breasted and 
Luckenbill. 







































































































Nineveh, “That Great City” 


139 


solved the problem by taking the bandit along with 
us. Our old bishop happened to know him and 
brought us together. That at least was one use we 
found for the bishop, who had proved himself such 
a nuisance otherwise. 

So one morning we again crossed the river and 
set out in our Red Cross vans, with our Indian 
drivers, our old bishop, and the bandit. When we 
reached the first of the villages, which was a mere 
group of earners-hair tents, we were stopped; and 
while milk was brought with which to refresh us, 
runners were sent out all over the country to inform 
the Bedouin that we were the friends of the bandit 
and also that he was himself a passenger of the cara¬ 
van, therefore no shots were to be fired at us during 
the time of our travels in that vicinity. The distance 
seemed greater than it was on account of bad 
traveling over roadless fields, but everywhere we 
beheld nothing but beauty. This country, it must 
be remembered, is in the rain belt, the grass grows 
well, and wild flowers are everywhere. 

On our way out we stopped and were entertained 
at a Christian monastery of the Chaldean Uniate 
faith. Wine and cigarettes were offered us, and we 
were shown the antiquities about this ancient place. 
One thing was very striking—the faces of the 
Christians were much milder and kindlier-looking 
than those of the Arabs. Another striking thing was 
to find a Christian village of several thousand in¬ 
habitants, called Karakush, in which there was not 
one Moslem, but all were Christians. 

The high mound of Nimrud is surmounted by a 


140 Dust and Ashes of Empires 

still higher temple tower built of mud brick and so 
steep as to be difficult to ascend. 

Several palace remains are here on this high 
platform—that of Ashurnadirpal, Shalmaneser, and 
others. Ancient sculpture protrudes from the ground 
everywhere. One huge figure of the god Nebo 
stands six feet above the ground and reveals only 
the body from the hips up. Great winged bull 
sphinxes, sandstone faces, conventional decorations, 
and many other things meet the eye without effort. 
Most of these figures formed doorways and room 
decorations. What a glorious palace it must have 
been! Remains of the Assyrian tree of life are to be 
seen, and here was found the black obelisk of Shal¬ 
maneser, on which he describes his defeat of Jehu, 
king of Israel, and many other things. The palace 
was built on a natural rock platform or foundation 
and then raised to its present height and much higher 
until it was a splendid sight from the surrounding 
plain and for many miles away. 

From this city in the long ago marched the armies 
under Shalmaneser that went forth to the conquest 
of Northern Israel, and to this city about 722 B.C. 
this same army returned with the captives of the 
northern tribes and from here were scattered to the 
four winds of the earth never to be found again. 

On our way back we were entertained by the old 
bandit at one of his villages, where a huge dish of 
rice, mutton, fowls, and dainties vanished before our 
hungry band. The most striking thing about the 
dinner was that a table and stools were provided— 
an unheard-of luxury in that land. After the meal 


Nineveh, “That Great City” 141 

old Haggi showed us a great herd of horses, of which 
he was very proud. 

The ancient Assyrian empire reached from Ashur 
on the south to Khorsabad on the north, stretching 
up and down the Tigris and taking in all the land 
contiguous to the river within those limits. And I 
think the city of Nineveh, to which the prophet 
Jonah came and into which he traveled three days 
with his evangelistic message, was not the small city 
of Nineveh proper, but that triangle having the city 
on the Tigris for one corner, Khorsabad, fifteen 
miles away to the north, for another, and Nimrud, 
twenty-five miles to the south, for the other. Within 
this triangle there was a fertile land, filled with pros¬ 
perous villages and requiring much more than three 
days to thoroughly canvass and impress with the 
message of the Lord—a wonderful city, a glorious 
civilization, which dominated the whole world with 
its ideas, its power, and its wickedness. The very 
terror of it was upon the nations and called for many 
prophecies. The whole burden of the prophecy of 
Nahum seems to have been against Nineveh. As 
one walks amid the ruins of this once glorious and 
powerful civilization dreaded by every nation under 
heaven, whose destruction in 606 B.C. was acclaimed 
with joy by all, there comes once again the voice of 
the prophet: “Thy shepherds slumber, 0 king of 
Assyria; thy nobles are at rest; thy people are scat¬ 
tered upon the mountains, and there is none to gather 
them. There is no assuaging of thy hurt; thy wound 
is grievous: all that hear the report of thee clap 
their hands over thee; for upon whom hath not thy 
wickedness passed continually?” (Nahum iii. 18,19). 


CHAPTER XIII 
On the Trail of Abraham 

When once again we turned our faces back toward 
Bagdad, we were both glad and sad. We were ex¬ 
ceedingly anxious to get back to headquarters, for 
it was very dangerous up here on the very borders of 
Turkey; there were constant rumors of Turkish 
raids to recover Mosul, and the war clouds ever hung 
low. To add to our anxiety, a rainy season threat¬ 
ened us, and for a day we were held up on account of 
the downpour. When at last we were on our way 
over the still more dangerous route down the river, 
with twenty Fords and many guards in our caravan, 
we found ourselves tied up with washed-out bridges 
and slippery roads and the storm still increasing, 
until our captain announced that we must turn back. 
But finally, after almost carrying the cars across 
washed-out places and losing much time, the clouds 
showed signs of breaking; and we were glad, for there 
is a tradition of a flood in this very land which left 
very little upon the whole earth. Long before we 
reached Shergat, the rail head, our caravan was hope¬ 
lessly scattered and that in a country threatened 
with -raids continually. But we reached the place of 
shelter safely after passing the British oil station, 
which is called Guyyar, a name meaning “oil” in the 
Arab tongue. The well furnishes the British army 
all over this country with oil. 

On arriving at Shergat we found that the Arabs 
(142) 


143 


On the Trail of Abraham 

had cut the railroad below us and that the rains had 
also done their part in cutting us off from Bagdad. 
The Arabs and the British were engaged in heavy 
fighting at the village of Tekrit, several miles below 
us, and we faced the prospect of an indefinite so¬ 
journ in the most disagreeable of all our stops so far. 
But after about a day's delay a train came in, and 
when it went south we were on it. 

The next morning daybreak found us approaching 
Bagdad, with the stately Mound of Aqarquf on our 
right and the beautiful Mosque of Qadamain on our 
left. We arrived at the station about 7 A.M., found 
General Hambro's autos awaiting us, and were soon 
back in our old quarters at the officers' club. This 
time we arranged for meals at the Hotel Maude, 
where there was an American table, around which 
sat the two American consuls, Mr. 0. M. Heizer and 
Mr. Thomas R. Owens, two representatives of the 
Standard Oil Company, who were marooned there 
by the position of the British government on the oil 
question, and our own party. The dining room of 
this hotel opens out on the Tigris and is very beau¬ 
tiful. 

We had gone back to Bagdad with the idea of going 
on to Persia, but found that all transportation fa¬ 
cilities were taken up with the moving of the forty 
thousand Arminian refugees who had been in the 
camp at Bakuba, below Bagdad. We now turned 
our attention to the trip across the desert to Aleppo. 

The British government had forbidden our cross¬ 
ing the desert on account of the great danger from 
hostile Arabs and we were preparing to go back to 
Mohammerah, on the Shat-el-Arab, to await our 


144 Dust and Ashes of Empires 

chances for an oil tanker in an attempt to get back to 
Port Said. Just at this juncture the British general 
commanding the Western outpost, three hundred 
miles up the Euphrates, notified the commandant at 
Bagdad that one of his captains had been digging a 
rifle pit in an old Roman fort at Salihiyeh and had 
discovered some coloring on a wall; and knowing 
that the American Scientific Mission was at Bagdad, 
he requested us to come up and examine it. This 
gave us our opportunity, and we were outfitted with 
seven Ford cars, five vans, and two touring cars. 
We had five Indian drivers and two Arabs. We 
left the city of the caliphs about 9 A.M., April 28, 
driving out by the ruins of Aqarquf and across the 
plains westward until we came to Felluja, the first 
military post on the Euphrates. Owing to car 
troubles we did not reach this post until noon, though 
we were expected for breakfast. The post is a miser¬ 
able Arab village near the old battle field of Cunaxa, 
where in 401 B.C. Cyrus the Younger was slain by 
his brother, King Artaxerxes Mnemon. 

From Felluja we traveled up the river, but could 
not cross on account of the washing out of a bridge; 
so we took to the desert, but soon found that even 
Fords cannot negotiate successfully the desert sand. 
It was no uncommon sight to see every man in the 
caravan out trying to push a car through a sand bed. 
This state of affairs kept on until night came on us, 
when we were in hostile country and had lost our 
direction. 

The desert was a trackless one, so when night came 
there was no chance of finding our way. We held a 
council of war and it was decided to camp. As camp 


145 


On the Trail of Abraham 

was being struck, I suggested to Breasted that we 
turn in the direction of the river and travel until we 
came to the banks, so that we might have water. 
All agreed that this was a good suggestion; so with 
an effort we were off in the general direction of the 
Euphrates until we were suddenly confronted by an 
irrigation ditch, a thing we had forgotten to figure 
into our calculation and which was inevitable in the 
vicinity of the river. With chagrin we again camped, 
circling our autos and placing our camp beds within 
the circle. Four of us went to sleep, while the fifth 
did sentry duty, each taking his turn until daylight. 
With a light breakfast on canned goods we were 
again on our way, but with trouble still dogging our 
footsteps. One car soon ran out of petrol and the 
only other one in line with it had none to spare, so 
this car had to be left in the desert until a tin of pe¬ 
trol could be sent back for it. We arrived at the rather 
beautiful little village of Ramadi and found break¬ 
fast waiting for us, although the officers had ex¬ 
pected us the night before. By 10 A.M. we were 
again on our way, passing up the river. As far up 
as Ramadi the British operate two good-sized gun¬ 
boats, with which they convey provisions and scatter 
terror with their guns among revolutionary tribes 
who happen to be near the river. In fact, these boats 
run much farther up the river, but mostly for the 
purpose of carrying army supplies. 

This whole country seems to be alive with sand 
grouse, and it looks like good hunting grounds. 
Occasionally we passed great bunds, or dams, which 
protect the country during high water. 

In the afternoon we came to the ancient city of 

10 


146 Dust and Ashes of Empires 

Hit, mentioned by Herodotus (450 B.C.) as Is. The 
city stands on a high hill, which has been formed by 
one city after another building on the ruins of the 
preceding city until through the continuous centu¬ 
ries the mound has become quite imposing. It has 
at least eight thousand inhabitants and has been in 
constant operation for many thousand years. The 
wonderful bitumen wells, where the bitumen boils 
up out of the water and is collected and refined, 
have been in constant use for at least five thousand 
years. In the eleventh chapter of Genesis we are 
told that in the Vale of Shinar, which is lower Baby¬ 
lonia, “they had brick for stone, and slime had they 
for mortar/' The word “slime" is the word for 
“bitumen," which in plain American is “asphalt." 
The ruins of all the cities of lower Babylonia, Ur, Eri- 
du, Babylon, and others, still have the bitumen 
mortar preserved on their bricks and in the walls. 
This all came from Hit. At Eridu and Ur these in¬ 
scribed bricks indicate a date earlier than three 
thousand years before the Christian era. The bit¬ 
umen works here are rather extensive; and not only 
do they use that which boils out, but they also burn 
it out of the rocks. 

We arrived at Hit very weary and dirty, found an 
empty tent with the British officers, and soon had our 
survivals of civilization out and were practicing the 
arts of that same civilization, in the way of shaving, 
bathing, and cleaning up generally. It is most won¬ 
derful what conveniences you can carry with you on 
the desert and how enjoyable they are, provided you 
can get in touch with a water supply, which is not 
often easy. 


147 


On the Trail of Abraham 

Leaving Hit at six o'clock the next morning, we 
reached Haditha at noon, and after a hurried lunch 
plunged on into the desert, but after a six-mile run 
one of our cars broke down and had to be abandoned. 
Our troubles now came in battalions and the next 
report was that our head touring car had broken an 
axle and evening was coming on. We were in the 
midst of a very dangerous territory and did not know 
what moment we would be attacked by hostile Arabs. 
We took the cars that would run and started back 
toward the river, and when we were within a mile of 
it we camped in a cove of the mountains, for the wind 
was blowing a gale. With great difficulty we made 
tea and cooked rice and made ready for what sleep 
might be coming to us. This was the loneliest night 
of the whole journey. One by one, we did sentry 
duty, walking through the long hours of the night, 
expecting any moment to be made a target for some 
Bedouin band, wondering how the folks at home 
were, and feeling a doubt about ever seeing them 
again. In such hours of loneliness one was apt to 
wonder why he ever left home, anyway. I was on 
the watch when the first faint streaks of day began 
to appear. The scene was indeed beautiful, and never 
was a day more welcome. The drivers who had been 
sent back to Haditha with the broken car arrived 
about half-past eight with car repaired and two more 
vans. So we were soon off on the next long lap of the 
journey. About noon we met a relief train that had 
been sent out for us, and arrived at Aneh at 3 p.m. 

The city of Aneh is in a most beautiful situation. 
There are high hills on the west side of the river, 
with great cliffs and canyons. East of the river is a 


148 Dust and Ashes of Empires 

desert plateau, and the natives on that side are all 
hostile to the British and keep fighting. The politi¬ 
cal officer at Aneh had bought up the ferryboats to 
keep them from crossing, and patroled the river front 
for many miles. Bombing planes went over every 
few nights to intimidate the Arab tribesmen. 

The city of Aneh is built along the river for five 
miles. In the river there is a series of islands covered 
with green foliage, which, in contrast with the desert 
that comes down to it, makes it extremely attractive. 
Here is the spot Sir William Willcox selected as the 
site of the Garden of Eden and has written a book 
to prove it. 

During the Turkish occupation two ammunition 
dumps exploded and the hills were literally covered 
with burst and whole shells. This whole land is war- 
torn to the last degree. 

At Aneh we replenished our provision baskets at 
the highest prices I have ever known, and at nine 
o’clock the next morning we were ready to join the 
military caravan which was to proceed up the river. 
Just before starting, the commandant came to me and 
said that the general had required him to inform us 
that if we proceeded that day we would be crossing 
a line of battle which had been raging since day¬ 
light and that we must assume our own risks. This 
we willingly did and started with forty-four autos, 
mostly Fords, but some of them Rolls-Royce armored 
cars, and also several Ford machine gun corps. At 
noon we stopped for lunch at the very spot where 
the fighting had been going on that morning, and 
late in the afternoon we reached Abul Kamal, the 
headquarters of the commanding general of that 


149 


On the Trail of Abraham 

section, General Cunningham, the man who became 
famous during the war with the Turks by cutting 
them off from their supplies at the last great battle 
at Assur, which ended the main part of the war in 
the land of Mesopotamia. 

Here at Abul Kamal we were met by Colonel 
Leachman, who had tea awaiting us. Leachman 
was the most famous of the Mesopotamian officers. 
He it was who opened the streets of Mosul. He had 
spent eighteen years out there among the Arabs, 
knew their language better than most of them knew it 
themselves, and knew their customs. During the 
war he was able to disguise himself completely as an 
Arab and go among the tribes and learn all they 
knew and thought of the situation. He was very 
kind to us. 

The next day after our arrival at Abul Kamal, we 
went with General Cunningham to Salihiyeh, twenty- 
eight miles farther on. This was the farthest outpost 
of the British government, and they had already 
been ordered by the Peace Conference to withdraw 
one hundred miles down the river, to Aneh. The 
second day we moved to Salihiyeh and camped there 
to make the necessary excavations in the Roman 
fort. We uncovered a most gorgeous chapel, with 
splendid Greek wall paintings. The south wall of 
the chapel contained several heroic figures, in mar¬ 
velous colors and almost perfectly preserved. Their 
names and much later scribbling on the walls in 
Greek made a very interesting study. In front of 
this was a well-built altar, and running out to the 
east from this was another wall with Roman paintings 
and Latin inscriptions. But the whole matter will 


150 Dust and Ashes of Empires 

soon be published by the Expedition. We photo¬ 
graphed these walls, copied them, made our notes, 
and then covered them up again, for we did not wish 
to have such precious remains left to the tender mer¬ 
cies of the Arabs; so the chapel is once again hidden 
until some other archaeologist comes along and more 
perfectly investigates the whole field. 

This old fort is situated on a series of high cliffs, 
and must have been an almost impregnable citadel 
in the long ago. Out on the desert, half a mile away, 
is a great system of catacombs. The wall of the fort 
is very extensive and the gates are huge. On our 
journey up the Euphrates we passed numbers of 
these forts, which are yet quite unknown to the 
world. They were the line of communication of the 
Roman government and were later rebuilt, while 
others were built by the caliphs. Every dozen 
miles or so one is seen, some of them very imposing, 
lifting themselves like great castles over the valley 
of the river. What a field for the classical archaeolo¬ 
gist! 


CHAPTER XIV 
Across the Syrian Desert 

On May 5 we secured five Arab wagons and set out 
across the desert to Aleppo. The British government 
had forbidden our going; but since we were now in 
Arab territory, we could do as we pleased. Never 
shall I forget those Arab wagons. To imagine them 
one must remember that Arabs always sit flat down 
and never use seats; so an Arab wagon is not pro¬ 
vided with such luxuries. Rather, a rug is spread 
on the narrow floor, and down you sit as best you can. 
There were three of us to the wagon. When we had 
once wedged ourselves in, we began to wonder what 
we would do with our feet, and we came to the con¬ 
clusion that those wagons were made for legless men. 
But there we sat for nearly eight days. 

The wagons were drawn by three horses each, 
working abreast and driven by a man in baggy 
trousers who claimed to be an Arab, but who looked 
for the world like a Turk. These wagons were called 
“arabanahs” and the drivers “arabagahs.” 

Our first stop was Mayyadin, where a room was 
found in a house for us, or rather on the roof of the 
house. This was our first night in the Arab country 
without protection and we were made aware of it. 
The captain of the governor's soldiers visited us 
after we had retired and talked long about his desire 
to come to America. All during the night groups of 
natives were prowling the streets and sometime 

(151) 


152 Dust and Ashes of Empires 

hammering on our door below. We were off at 7 A.M. 
after much difficulty about the amount of baksheesh 
we were to pay. Two and a half miles to the west 
of the town, as we got out of it, is the majestic look¬ 
ing castle, or Roman fort, of Rahaba, built on a pla¬ 
teau two hundred and forty-five feet above the river 
level and with a moat cut all around it. It is very 
imposing and must have been of great importance 
during the glorious days of the Roman Empire. Its 
walls were precipitous from every side, and on the 
inside was a well blocked up and sixty feet deep. 
From here to Der es Zor we travel along the old 
river bed among scrub trees of tamarisk and acacia 
and over land that must be very fertile, but war has 
prevented the cultivation of any of it. It was prob¬ 
ably once thickly populated and could have sup¬ 
ported a large civilization. 

We approached Der es Zor with some trepidation. 
It is the trouble spot of the country. Here the Brit¬ 
ish officers who tried to take possession met with 
violence. Colonel Leachman passed us. He had 
been to the city to negotiate the transfer of the 
British army down the river, and was accompanied 
by machine gun corps and other guards. That was 
the last time we were to see this faithful officer of the 
British government, for a few days afterwards he was 
assassinated by the Arabs, near Ramada. 

When we arrived in Der es Zor, we found that 
Colonel Leachman had made arrangements for us 
and we were at a kind of hotel, though we refused 
to use their beds and made down our own field beds. 
That night we were entertained at dinner by the 
governor of the Der es Zor province, Ma’lud Pasha. 



UbJ* 


THE EXPEDITION WAGONS ON THE SYRIAN DESERT. 
Utter desolation and a long way from home. 



THE EXPEDITION CARAVAN CROSSING A VALLEY 
BETWEEN CHALK HILLS ON THE 
SYRIAN DESERT. 






































































153 


Across the Syrian Desert 

Had it not been for the favors shown us by Ma’lud 
Pasha, things might have gone badly with us at Del¬ 
es Zor, for the political unrest amounted to fanati¬ 
cism among the Arabs, who had just that day won 
in an encounter with the British and could not un¬ 
derstand that the Army was moving back simply 
because the Peace Conference had ordered it, but 
supposed that they were in fear of the Arab strength. 

We were conducted to the home of the governor 
by his chief officers and soon found ourselves in a 
comfortable house, whose banquet hall was on the 
second floor, and with great ceremony we were re¬ 
ceived into the presence of His Excellency. He was 
a fine fellow, one of that better class of Arabs who 
show refinement and good blood. He was, like most 
of his kind, slender and straight, but, unlike them, 
with a delicacy of demeanor that was almost effemi¬ 
nate. He was about forty years of age, with jet 
black Vandyke beard of the Arab style, kindly 
brown eyes, and hands as delicate as those of a 
woman. He was dressed in the uniform of a Syrian 
officer, but retained the Arab headdress, of pure 
white with the black camel’s hobble on top. His 
chief men were the most learned of his province, and 
both he and they had been educated at Constanti¬ 
nople. His secretary, who did much of the talking, 
had a distinctly European air, though he said he had 
never been in Europe. Both spoke very good French. 
Strangely enough out here on the desert, we had a 
table and chairs and real dishes, by which this pic¬ 
turesque character had departed entirely from the 
customs of his people. Several kinds of wine were on 
the table, but only for guests, for no orthodox Moslem 


154 Dust and Ashes of Empires 

drinks wine. One dish that very much interested us 
looked for all the world like American wieners, but 
proved to be a mixture of ground mutton, rice, and 
fruits cooked in a grape leaf and was a delicious 
morsel. The governor of the Aleppo province was 
also a guest of the evening. He was an entirely 
different kind of man—red-headed, with florid com¬ 
plexion, and fat. Of course he was genial. He was 
going back to Aleppo next morning and invited us to 
join his caravan, an invitation which we gladly 
accepted, for it meant protection. During the even¬ 
ing a marriage procession was taking place in the 
street below, just as it must have been carried out in 
the days of Jesus and for a thousand years earlier. 
The bridegroom's party and the bridal party were 
marching and occasionally meeting each other. The 
bride was veiled and all carried fire of some sort, 
either torches or a kind of magnesium, which they 
kept lighting. All the men were shouting and playing 
musical instruments, while the women were yodeling. 
Arab women yodel on all occasions, at a funeral as 
well as a wedding, and it is rather beautiful. The 
Arab has a sweet voice, but always in the minor key, 
which lends itself better to sorrow than to joy. An 
Arab woman is married to a man who may already 
be married and more than middle-aged, for he can 
have four wives. She is usually not more than ten 
years old, or, at the oldest, not more than twelve. 
A wedding is pathetic, for the bride is usually crying 
and being consoled by her bridesmaids. Poor little 
thing! she is nearly frightened out of what little 
wits she has, and marriage is an act of entering upon 
a life of slavery and degradation. As usual we were 


Across the Syrian Desert 155 

conducted home by a delegation from the governor’s 
house with torches. 

The next morning after the marriage procession 
we were up at four o’clock to make connection with 
Nagi Beg, the Aleppo governor; but we could not 
find our drivers until seven o’clock and Nagi was 
then far out on the desert road. Nor did we ever see 
him again. After about three hours of traveling, we 
were suddenly confronted by a group of Arabs, prob¬ 
ably one hundred in number; and as there was noth¬ 
ing else to do we went with them to their camp, a 
group of black camel’s-hair tents. We were captured! 
As we came into the large council tent, I saw only 
one gun and one spear, while two of the Arabs wore 
swords. When we sat down and began the argument 
by which we hoped to convince them that we were 
Americans and not Englishmen, I saw another gun 
and then another until every man in the group had a 
gun, spear, or sword, and some had both. These 
had seemed to bloom out of nowhere. The old sheik, 
whose name we later learned was Ramadan, a very 
holy name, did not in any particular look holy. He 
had lost an ear and his nose in fights and he was in¬ 
sisting that we were English, while we knew that no 
Englishman had been able to cross that desert in 
six years. Some had tried it, but had literally been 
torn to pieces. Our lives depended upon our ability 
to prove our claims to be Americans. While we 
were thus engaged, Dr. Luckenbill had the happy 
thought to suggest taking their pictures. Every 
Arab likes to have his picture made, and this would 
at least give us a respite. They agreed and lined up 
for the picture. When this was over, old Ramadan 


156 Dust and Ashes of Empires 

took up a maul with which they drove tent stakes 
and, swinging it over his head, made a motion at Dr. 
Breasted. Each one of us laid his hand on his re¬ 
volver, but as Ramadan came down on the ground 
with his maul with tremendous force, he said: “No, 
no, I was only showing you what I would do to you if 
you were English. I know now that you are Ameri¬ 
cans, and I know your Mr. Woodrow Wilson and the 
fourteen points and the self-determination of nations, 
and that is what we want and for which we fight the 
British!” When you consider that this was two 
hundred miles from the nearest line of communica¬ 
tion, in the heart of the desert, it will be seen how far- 
reaching was the ideal of our own great President. 

After this speech by Ramadan, I turned and saw 
coffee coming, the best looking coffee I had ever seen 
in my life, for it meant safety. We were to eat with 
them, therefore we were guests, they were our hosts, 
and their lives would be the guarantee of our 
safety. 

Soon we were on our road again. As we left these 
Bedouin, the sheik gave us a letter to carry to Aleppo 
for him. We are to hear of this again later. 

We hurried the drivers as best we could, for Nagi 
Beg had left word that he would wait for us at Tibni, 
but expected us there at noon. We arrived at 4 P.M., 
and tried to force the drivers on, for we were in a 
most desolate country. Nobody, so far as we could 
see, lived in the vicinity of Tibni, and we thought 
for a while that a fight would be precipitated. Pis¬ 
tols were handled and every one was in a rage, but 
finally we accepted the inevitable and camped for 
the night. We were paying these drivers 2,000 rupees 


157 


Across the Syrian Desert 

(nearly a thousand dollars) for the trip (the whole 
outfit was not worth that much money), and they 
were going to follow their own sweet way. They 
usually stayed up all night and slept on the seat 
during the day. 

We were up at three o'clock the next morning and 
off two hours later, passing up and on to the desert 
plateau looking westward into nothingness—a most 
desolate land. Once we came down into a great 
valley whose mountain walls were pure white chalk, 
out of this back into the proximity of the river, pass¬ 
ing Ma'adan, an almost deserted village, and then 
followed the river plain until we reached our next 
stopping place, the village of Sabhah, where we found 
two khans, both filled with caravans. At last we 
were fixed for the night in one of them, but had to 
endure filth within and fights without all night. The 
village lies picturesquely nestling at the foot of great 
limestone cliffs in front of which the Euphrates makes 
a horseshoe bend, leaving wonderfully beautiful 
green islands and a fine valley practically unin¬ 
habited. Across the river is an immense extinct vol¬ 
cano which seems from its appearance to have just 
finished its work, but which has been dormant 
certainly since historic times. It is huge, and from 
its crater there lie untold masses of lava dust and 
rock. The valley is wide at this point and looks as if 
it might have sustained an immense population at 
some time in its history. We cannot think that this 
fertile land lay idle in the days when every available 
spot for cultivation was sought by the expanding 
nations of long ago. 

It seems strange to be traveling this ancient high- 


158 Dust and Ashes of Empires 

way over which the kings of Assyria, Babylonia, 
and Egypt marched, through all of their history. 
Cyrus, Alexander, and the Caesars traveled over this 
same road. Up this same pathway came Abraham 
on his road to Haran, and later Amraphel and his 
confederates on their way to fight Abraham in the 
vale of Siddim. They drank from this river and 
camped upon its banks. Not only so, but at a much 
earlier time the human race was here, for there are, 
all along, evidences of cliff dwellers; and flints are to 
be found, indicating a very early civilization along 
this famous water course. 

As, with the dawn, we left Sabhah, traveling out 
across a stretch of fertile territory, we came to some 
majestic cliffs, perhaps two hundred feet high, at the 
foot of which lay the most exquisitely beautiful body 
of water we had seen. It had been formed by the 
river changing its course and leaving its old bed, 
which was very deep at the bottom of these cliffs. 
The body of water is several miles long and perhaps 
an average of two hundred yards wide, and it may 
be that it is fed by springs under the cliffs. It was 
so clear that we could see the bottom, with a great 
many fish of various sizes playing in its depths; 
and after the night of filth and fleas, and so long a 
time without seeing clear water, the temptation to 
stop and take a plunge was almost compelling. I 
was for camping for the day and indulging in swim¬ 
ming and fishing; but we had not the time, and if we 
had, it would have been dangerous to stop in these 
regions outside of a protected khan. 

Lunch was had this day at Sheik-Asad, where we 


Across the Syrian Desert 159 

photographed some of the Bedouin children, who 
seemed, aside from their filth, quite attractive. 

The camp for the night was at El Hamman, where 
we found that the longer we traveled the worse were 
the camping places. We slept among bats, bugs, and 
fleas, not to mention the dirt that fell all night from 
the ceiling into our eyes and mouths. The river at 
Hamman performs a peculiar stunt, for the khan is 
on the west side of the river, as all our travels were; 
but we find ourselves to-night looking straight across 
the river into the setting sun, while a little lower 
down the river turns back on itself, running for a time 
upstream. 

While we have refused to drink water without 
boiling since sojourning in the Near East, we have 
now become so desperate that we are actually buying 
and drinking milk which the Bedouin bring to us. 

It was always easy to get up early when we were 
sleeping amid millions of fleas; so we were up in the 
morning by a quarter past three and at five were on 
our way, taking almost at once to the uplands of the 
desert plateau, where the path was marked by the 
limestone outcroppings until we plunged into a great 
gorge cut through pure white rock and hundreds of 
feet deep, from which we issued on the river plain 
at a watering place called Dibsi, mentioned in 1 
Kings iv. 24. No one lives here, but it is a regular 
stopping place for caravans. Our lunch place that 
day had been Abu Hureihreh. Do not be misled 
into thinking that these place names mean anything; 
they are usually composed of a khan, with some¬ 
times a Bedouin camp near, and again of a few mis¬ 
erable huts, but more often of nothing, just nothing. 


160 Dust and Ashes of Empires 

After a drive of forty-two miles, since morning, we 
arrived at Meskenet about six o'clock in the evening. 
As we drove into the place we noticed several un¬ 
finished white stone buildings, probably designed for 
Turkish barracks during or before the war. The kahn 
was large and impossible. Our drivers hurried to un¬ 
hitch their horses against every protest, for I saw at 
once that we could not spend the night in any such 
place, and Dr. Breasted’s wagon had not yet arrived. 
There were holes in the floors big enough to let our 
wagons through, and they seemed to have been out 
of use since before the war. When Breasted came up 
we went back and chose out the best of the half- 
finished barracks-buildings and moved to it. It 
must be remembered that every wagon had to be un¬ 
loaded each night and carried into our sleeping 
apartment and reloaded the next morning. The 
buildings were scarcely more inhabitable than the 
khan—no floors, windows, doors, nor anything of the 
kind, and they had been used for divers purposes. 
Night was coming on, a fierce sandstorm was blowing, 
and it was beginning to rain. We managed to get 
down our beds and found a place where Ali Mustapha 
could prepare supper. We had bribed some Bedou¬ 
ins to bring water and eggs and milk. The water 
came, and at last we found some eggs, but the milk 
did not arrive. Then we set in for a miserable night. 
Two of us tried the open air, but found it impossible 
to sleep and wage war with cats, dogs, and fleas, 
together with rain and wind. The country was for¬ 
bidding and dangerous, and some native came after 
a while to raise trouble because we had not spent the 
night in the khan; so we slept that night, as usual, 


161 


Across the Syrian Desert 

with our hands on our revolvers, but with the addi¬ 
tional precaution of keeping at least one eye open. 

In the morning we drove two miles up the river 
and then turned our faces due west, for we had 
reached the point where the river comes nearest the 
sea. The Euphrates, originally, intended pouring 
its waters into the Mediterranean, but seems sud¬ 
denly to have changed its mind and turned back 
toward the east and, watering the valleys of Assyria 
and Babylonia, found its destination in the Persian 
Gulf. 

We said good-by to the Euphrates, with which 
we had been associated for months and which had 
been a good friend to us. We now made for the 
open desert, but did not go far until wheat fields 
began to appear—thin, short wheat indeed, but wheat 
—and after traveling for some time we suddenly 
came upon a water hole, a strange but important 
phenomenon of the desert. There is nothing quite so 
refreshing and interesting as to come suddenly upon 
good, clear water in the desert. The well was only 
about three feet deep, surrounded by a lake of water 
perhaps fifty by one hundred feet in extent, and 
large flocks of sheep and several camels were water¬ 
ing here, among which was a mother camel with twin 
colts, all perfectly white and unusually large. More¬ 
over, there were two other caravans here, so it was 
quite a gathering that morning at the water hole in 
the desert. The shepherd boys with the sheep were 
entirely naked. When we had gone some distance 
from the hole, more and more cultivated fields 
were noticed, some of them being very large. When 
we reached the next tribe of Bedouin Arabs, there 
11 


162 


Dust and Ashes of Empires 

were huts of mud in the form of beehives. These 
Arabs are called the Haddadin tribe. 

At noon we had lunch by a shallow well at the 
village of Der Hafir, where all the houses were bee¬ 
hive huts and the well only two or three feet deep. 
We succeeded in buying sugar here at about eighty 
cents per pound, which was cheaper than we had 
bought it at Der es Zor. 

As the caravan moved away from Der Hafir, the 
road led across a meadow with green grass and shal¬ 
low wells, with here and there a clump of trees, 
which reminded me of some spots I have seen in 
North Texas. 

Irrigation is also carried on. The ground later 
became more rocky as we reached higher levels, 
but still with wheat fields which seemed to have as 
much as five hundred acres to the field, and harvest¬ 
ing was on. The method all over this country is 
generally to pull the grain by the roots and pile it in 
ricks awaiting the coming of the camels which usu¬ 
ally bear it to the threshing-floors. 

At night the caravan reached a place called Nahr 
el Dahab, which, being translated, means “The river 
of gold. ,, This name is all right except for the minor 
facts that there is neither river nor gold here and that 
it possesses the most miserable khan we had yet 
found. 

As we entered the gate, old Arab columns and 
architecture were noticed, and surrounding the place 
are many wells and tombs in the rocks, some of the 
wells being very deep. There is a hill with a ceme¬ 
tery on it and the gravestones are usually broken 



A WATER HOLE IN THE DESERT. 

Between the Euphrates and Aleppo. Three caravans have 
met here in the early morning. 



I 







timed** • 

> - :: _ : W - *1 


THE DESERT THE HEBREWS CROSSED BETWEEN 
EGYPT AND PALESTINE. 

The little cross is over the grave of a British soldier who 
fell in the advance on Palestine. 










Across the Syrian Desert 163 

columns of ancient temples. The place is said to 
have been an early monastery. 

Our rooms were the first three on the ground floor. 
We made the first two into bedrooms, while the 
other one was used by our Arab boys and for a kitch¬ 
en. The rest of them in that row were used for horses. 
The khan was full of horses and the wind was blow¬ 
ing a gale. Besides, there were no door shutters to 
our rooms and the only fuel we could buy was camel 
dung. The beds, as soon as we had unpacked them, 
became alive with fleas. There must have been 
millions of them. The wind would swish into our 
rooms a cloud of dust recruited from the offal of the 
stables around us. It was found impracticable to use 
for cooking supper the fuel we had bought, for, after 
smelling the fuel burn awhile, no one wanted any 
supper; but finally Ali Mustapha succeeded in get¬ 
ting the oil stove to work. It had burned out in the 
wind the night we were lost and we had supposed 
that it was forever out of commission. Supper over, 
the next task was to sleep; and after all we had been 
through, it might have been supposed that nothing 
would daunt us; but there was only one redeeming 
feature: it was our last night out. We drank milk 
that night out of wooden vessels that had not been 
washed in years, and retired to the battle of the bunks. 

The fleas won, and we were up in the early morning 
hours and off for the last lap. We traveled till day¬ 
light, when we came to a large Tel with a cemetery 
on one side, and I climbed this. Standing there on 
the ruins of that buried city, I counted twelve others 
from where I stood; and it is said that there are fifty 
buried cities in that plain and never a pick has been 


164 Dust and Ashes of Empires 

stuck in one of them. What a magnificent civiliza¬ 
tion must have flourished here in the days of long ago! 
Some think this was the land known as the Land of 
the Naharim, and it was undoubtedly the hinge or 
turning point of the road from Egypt to Mesopota¬ 
mia and is thought by Dr. A. T. Clay to be the origi¬ 
nal home of the Semites—that is, the land of the 
Amurru, whence came Hammurabi. It must have been 
at one time in a very high state of civilization and 
cultivation to have supported such a large popula¬ 
tion. That must have been a very vigorous popula¬ 
tion to have erected such cities as to leave these 
magnificent remains, and a high state of fertility 
is necessary to support so many cities in such a 
small compass. What this group of mounds holds 
for us only the spade can tell. How much the ex¬ 
cavation of these mounds will add to history is hard to 
be conjectured; but since we know that all ancient 
civilizations passed this way and this was their 
turning point—whether coming from Babylonia to 
Egypt, or from Egypt to Babylonia and Assyria 
—it must have been the scene of many battles. 

A lake lies some distance to the west of our road, 
and the road leads into still more fertile and well 
cultivated fields until about 10 a.m. we come in sight 
of the city of Aleppo; and after passing through 
olive and fig groves, grape vineyards, and gardens, 
we enter the gates of the city and find a hotel, a na¬ 
tive one with very indifferent service, but as com¬ 
pared with what we had been accustomed to it seemed 
like a palace. 


CHAPTER XV 

Aleppo and the Orontes Valley 

The Barron was a native hotel, and when we en¬ 
tered the proprietor informed us that the law re¬ 
quired that we register our names and where we were 
from. When he saw "Bagdad” written after the 
names, he said: "No; but you will have to tell where 
you are from. The law requires it.” We insisted 
that we were from Bagdad and he said: "Nobody 
comes from Bagdad; all who have tried it are dead.” 

The city of Aleppo was mentioned in the Egyptian 
records as early as two thousand years before Christ 
and its antiquity is unknown. It stands on a plain 
surrounded by hills, most of which, at least in the 
immediate vicinity, are covered with green. The 
situation is rather beautiful, particularly to one just 
off the desert. In comparison with Bagdad it seems 
quite modern, with its broad streets and stone 
buildings and cosmopolitan population. The Aleppo 
Arab is different from all others, probably because 
he has been mixed with Europeans since the days of 
the ascendancy of Venice. Many Italians and French 
have resided here for several centuries. Shake¬ 
speare mentions the place, but has his geography 
mixed when, in "Macbeth,” Act 1, scene 3, he has 
the master of the good ship Tiger sailing into the 
harbor of Aleppo, for Aleppo is a long way from 
the sea. The inhabitants of the city have long been 

(165) 


166 Dust and Ashes of Empires 

a byword with the other Arabs because of their un¬ 
stable character. 

Aleppo has about 250,000 inhabitants and is sit¬ 
uated on the very small river which they call the 
Kuweik, but which Xenophon called the Chalus. 
The natives call the city Haleb. 

In 851 B.C. Shalmaneser II. visited the city and 
offered sacrifices to the god Hadad. Hadad, trans¬ 
lated into English, means Smith, and this ancient 
reference may be of interest to that numerous family 
in America. 

Aleppo has had a tempestuous history. It has 
often been destroyed by earthquakes, has been 
burned again and again, and has been the scene 
of many hard sieges. It has been taken by Egyp¬ 
tians, Assyrians, Persians, Romans, Arabs, Cru¬ 
saders, Mongols, and Mamelukes. It is still a city 
of great importance and holds commercial supremacy 
over all the cities of that region. 

The most interesting thing about Aleppo is the cita¬ 
del, which stands on a high hill in the midst of the town 
—a hill which tradition tells us was artificial and is 
surrounded by a deep moat that goes down to virgin 
rock. The ancient city had its foundations on this 
hill and the Arabic traditions tell of eight thousand 
columns that support the hill. The whole situation 
is wonderfully impressive. You approach by an 
ancient causeway of solid stone to a gigantic door, 
behind which are niches for the use of guards; your 
way then turns till you come to a second door of 
equally massive proportions; farther on is still 
another one, and up this winding way you go until 
you find yourself high above the city and in the 


Aleppo and the Orontes Valley 167 

midst of ancient ruins, occupied now by the Syrian 
Army quarters. The hill should be excavated. 

We were shown around the citadel by the gover¬ 
nor of Aleppo, a man who had just succeeded Nagi 
Beg, and a splendid fellow who seemed to be quite 
well satisfied with himself. 

Our party dined with the French consul one even¬ 
ing. Our own consul is Mr. Jackson and his vice 
consul is Mr. Wilson, in whose company we visited 
the grave of George Smith, the great archaeologist, 
who died here many years ago. We had a call from a 
lady of the American Relief and also from Dr. Lam¬ 
bert, of Alabama, in the Red Cross service. 

On May 15 we were up very early, off for the rail¬ 
way station, and at 5:45 a.m. found ourselves slowly 
on our way south and on a railway train. Most of the 
railways in that country are indicated on maps, but 
do not actually exist. We met a man in Egypt 
who claimed to have made the journey from Con¬ 
stantinople through to Cairo by train, and yet there 
was no such line. Frequently one may observe on 
the maps a railroad from Aleppo to Mosul, but that 
is only a poor prospect and has never been actually 
started. We did, in fact, however, find this road 
running south from Aleppo and were very glad to 
avail ourselves of it. As the train wound its sin¬ 
uous way out of the vicinity of Aleppo, we had the 
opportunity of observing the surrounding country. 
At first it was very rocky and barren, with low moun¬ 
tain ranges in the distance. The Nussireyeh range 
is to the west, which makes close connection with 
the Lebanons lower down. Sometimes we were in 
fields where there were enormous piles of stone, while 


168 Dust and Ashes of Empires 

again the fields would be quite fertile; but one strik¬ 
ing thing was that all the soil was of a dark iron 
color, indicating the disintegration of lava. The 
principal crops were wheat and oats. After a while 
we came into a beautiful valley through which flows 
the Orontes, with its wonderful water wheels—pic¬ 
turesque processes by which the river lifts itself 
by means of a large wheel, generally about twelve to 
fifteen feet in diameter, along the circumference 
of which jugs or jars are fastened. This wheel has 
wings which open as they come over the wheel and 
close up as they rise out of the water, and thus the 
power is furnished by the current of the river. As 
these jars turn over the wheel they empty them¬ 
selves into a trough built on an inclined plane out to 
the wheel, which is supported by a stone wall. Some 
of these wheels have been running practically in the 
same place for thousands of years, and the process is 
known to the earliest records of this country and of 
the upper Euphrates. 

The little river waters a narrow valley at this point, 
but produces luxuriant vegetation, which is very at¬ 
tractive in contrast with the plain. Every bridge 
on the line of railway has been destroyed and we are 
using temporary structures. This is also true of all 
the stations; but they were so well built of the finest 
stone that they were being repaired and put into use 
again. Every water tank had also been blown up. 

As we come in between the Lebanon and Anti- 
Lebanon ranges of mountains, which are no more 
than hills here, we come to two huge mountains 
standing apart like two great gateposts. Between 
them is the ancient city of Hama, or Hamath, 


169 


Aleppo and the Orontes Valley 

which lies on both sides of the Orontes, with the 
huge mound of the ancient city almost in its center. 
The city is of unknown antiquity, having undeci¬ 
phered Hittite inscriptions which go back of any 
history we know. It is mentioned often in the Bible; 
first as the northern border of Israel's promised 
possessions, later by Rabshakeh, Sennacherib's 
captain, as having been taken by the Assyrians, 
again in Isaiah x. 9, and also in several other places. 
It was an important city in the kingdom of Antio- 
chus Epiphanes. It was captured by the Moslems 
in 639 A.D., and later captured by the Crusaders and 
changed hands many times. In the twelfth century 
it was completely destroyed by an earthquake. It 
is a matter of course that it should have had a stormy 
career, for it is directly on the line of communica¬ 
tion between the ancient empires. It has now, after 
all of its vicissitudes, about eighty thousand inhab¬ 
itants. There is much work there for the archaeolo¬ 
gist, and when it is well excavated it may throw much 
light on history. 

Twenty-six miles south of Hamath is the unique 
little city called Tel Biseh, composed of cone-shaped 
houses without windows and which appear in the 
distance as pure white and glisten in the sun. 

Thirty-six miles from Hamath is the important 
city of Homs, pronounced as if it were spelled Homps. 
It has about sixty thousand inhabitants and is men¬ 
tioned as far back as the days of Pliny. The wife of 
the Emperor Septimus Severus was born here, and 
here Aurelian was defeated in 272 A.D. by the Pal¬ 
myrenes. Before the war there was a railroad run¬ 
ning from Homs to Tripoli on the coast, but this has 


170 Dust and Ashes of Empires 

all been taken up and used for military purposes 
elsewhere. 

Two or three miles to the southwest of the city 
is a lake known as the Lake of Homs, a body of 
water six miles long and three miles broad, im¬ 
pounded by an artificial dam built of stone blocks 
and about a mile and a half in length. When this 
dam was built nobody knows, but it is mentioned 
in early inscriptions. 

In the afternoon we left the train at Kuseir, or El 
Kuseir, a small village out on the plain, but surround¬ 
ed by wonderful mountains. We piled our baggage 
out on the plain, for the station had not been rebuilt 
since the withering curse of the Turkish army had 
passed this way, and the village is some distance 
from the station. At last we found the station agent, 
who spoke French and seemed to be a very accommo¬ 
dating fellow, especially after the expedition had 
made him an expensive present of camera films, 
which he very much desired. He found an empty 
box car, into which we piled our stuff and got some 
natives to roll it down to the station for us. The next 
thing was to get our field beds in that car, then a 
room was secured for a kitchen and we were ready 
for living. We asked for eggs and produce and it 
came in abundance. The mudir then sent an in¬ 
vitation for Dr. Breasted to have dinner with him, 
which he did to his great disgust, for the party all 
went on a drunk and two drunken soldiers insisted 
on seeing Breasted home. 

The situation was one of great beauty. We were 
very near the Anti-Lebanons, and only a few miles 
from the main Lebanon range, which was west of 


171 


Aleppo and the Orontes Valley 

us, was covered with snow, and on whose heights 
there was a continuous kaleidoscope produced by 
storm clouds. 

The valley is wide at this point and must have been 
quite fertile before the war laid it waste. There are 
many Tels, or buried cities. 

With the morning we start to the village for our 
horses which are to serve us for the day. On the way 
we find ourselves following an ancient aqueduct 
built of stone masonry and which suggests that it 
might have been used as much for a secret passage¬ 
way for men as for water. 

This is the sleepiest village we have found and the 
people are the least courteous. But finally we are 
on our horses, warned by the mudir to keep together 
and under the protection of the police he was sending 
with us. 

Our way leads us over several miles of territory 
which was anciently cultivated and which shows the 
marks of this cultivation. 

Our destination was the mound now known as 
Tel Neby Mindo, the ancient Laodicea of Greek- 
Roman times, and still more anciently the city of 
Kadesh, a citadel of the Hittites and one of the 
most famous of battle grounds. The mound is 
very steep and has an outer circumference of five 
hundred and fifty yards by three hundred yards 
and probably one hundred and fifty feet high on the 
perpendicular. On its top is a small village of some 
twenty or twenty-five miserable native houses, some 
of which are built almost entirely of filth. There 
is also a cemetery on the summit. Whoever exca¬ 
vates the hill will have to take into consideration 


172 Dust and Ashes of Empires 

the occupation of the mound. Moreover, these 
natives were in a rather ugly mood on account of the 
French occupation of Beirut and Reyak, and the 
probability of their moving on up and taking pos¬ 
session of the entire land of Syria. As we made our 
measurement we were watched with suspicion for 
some time; but finally coffee and food were served 
in a small mud house, where we saw some of the 
Scripture enacted once more. Almost every day 
in this land you are reading your Bible in the sur¬ 
roundings. Here we sat around on the rug on which 
the food was served, and among other things brought 
us was a dish of what they called honey. It was a 
thin sirup of some sort, into which each of us dipped 
a piece of bread and ate, each one dipping into the 
“sop” with the other. 

From the top of this mound is a most beautiful 
view, almost surrounded by the majestic Lebanon 
Mountains, with farther north the range of Nussi- 
reyeh. The great artificial lake lies just to the north 
and there are several buried cities in view, as indi¬ 
cated by the mounds. The city of Homs is in the 
distance; and to the south, where the Lebanon and 
Anti-Lebanon Mountains nearly come together, 
in a narrow pass is a hill which lifts itself as a screen 
to the valley farther on. On this hill is a curious 
monument called Kamu’at el Hirmil. It has a base 
three and a half feet high, on which rests a lower 
story, or section, twenty-three feet high and thirty 
feet square, with a kind of cornice running all the 
way round. The second section rests on this, is 
smaller, and is nineteen feet high. On top of this is a 
pyramid fifteen feet high. It is built of limestone 


173 


Aleppo and the Orontes Valley 

and is solid throughout. It is covered with sculptures 
of hunting scenes, but nobody knows who built it, 
why it was built, nor when. 

The whole valley is picturesque and attractive. 
The mound is steep and striking in appearance. It 
is surrounded by luxuriant gardens and fruit trees, 
while at its feet sweep the clear waters of the Orontes, 
which, branching just south of the mound, forms a 
marshlike plain. The city must have been one of 
great importance, especially as a fortress, as it 
commanded the whole Orontes valley and the gate¬ 
way to Babylonia and Assyria. It was in all proba¬ 
bility an almost impregnable stronghold, for about 
1475 B.C. the great Thutmose III. besieged the 
city from early spring till harvest time, before he 
succeeded in taking it. In 1288 B.C. Rameses II., 
Israel's oppressor, attempted to take this city; and 
having marched with a very large army for that time, 
consisting of at least twenty thousand men, including 
mercenaries, he arrived at “The Heights," that hill 
south of the mound, and camped on its south side 
out of sight of the city watchers. He sent many 
spies out, all of whom reported that they could find 
no trace of the enemy until Muttallu, the Hittite 
king of Kadesh, sent to him two Bedouin, who re¬ 
ported that Muttallu had retreated to Aleppo. Ram¬ 
eses foolishly believed the report and immediately 
marched forward, going ahead with his own division, 
Amon, followed closely by the division of Re. They 
pitched camp early in the afternoon, west of the city, 
and the crafty Muttallu, with not only his own army, 
but the combined forces of all the surrounding 
kingdoms, which he had gathered here for the pur- 


174 Dust and Ashes of Empires 

pose of defeating the Egyptians, moved round the 
city walls as Rameses moved up, always keeping the 
city between them. The Egyptians, unmindful of 
danger, completely relaxed, until two spies were 
brought in and, after being flogged, confessed that the 
Hittite army was on the other side of the city and 
ready to strike, which they soon did, cutting to pieces 
the division of Re and scattering the whole army in 
confusion. Rameses himself performed wonderful 
exploits that day, driving with his own chariot 
many of the Hittites into the river and reorganizing 
his own men. The other divisions were far behind 
and one of them never did arrive; but what did save 
Rameses was the arrival of a mysterious division, 
called "The Recruits,” who must have come through 
an opening of the mountains from the seacoast. 

Another thing that saved Pharaoh was the falling 
of the Hittites upon the rich spoil of Rameses’s camp 
—a thing that has defeated many an army since. 
This battle story gives us the first recorded treaty 
of peace and the first complete description of mili¬ 
tary maneuvers. Rameses does not claim that he 
captured the city, but, having saved himself, he 
seems content to go back to Egypt and boast about 
the exploits of the day. He recorded this battle 
fully on at least three temples in Egypt. 

We traced here the movements of Rameses and 
his army about the city. As we were leaving a heavy 
rainstorm swept down off the Lebanons and caught 
us at a flour mill at the base of the mound—a crude 
sort of mill, but doing good work and by the power 
of the swift Orontes River. 

When we left Kusier, we bought first-class railroad 


175 


Aleppo and the Orontes Valley 

tickets and rode in a box car with our baggage, 
for all the compartments of all classes were taken. 
We wound our way down the valley, which is up the 
Orontes, for the river flows north, hugging first now 
one side and then the other of the wonderful valley, 
with here and there mulberry groves. We passed 
by the “Heights/’ the city of Riblah, containing now 
about five hundred inhabitants, most of whom are 
Greeks. Riblah is mentioned in the allotments as the 
northern frontier of Israel (Num. xxxiv. 11). Pha¬ 
raoh Necho camped at Riblah and kept Jehoahaz 
captive there (2 Kings xxiii. 33). Nebuchadnezzar 
also made a stop at Riblah, where he put out the 
eyes of Zedekiah (2 Kings xxv. 6 ff.; Jer. xxxix. 5) 
and executed his sons. 

The scenes along this route are wonderful. The 
mountains were covered with snow and clouds hung 
over them, occasionally rolling away in places so as to 
allow the bright sunshine to fall on the snow. There 
were many villages, most of them lying a little up the 
mountain slopes. Here and there in the plain we 
would pass ruins, telling the story of some past civili¬ 
zation or people who lived and labored and died in 
this rich valley and were likewise forgotten. 

Late in the afternoon our train stopped at Baalbek, 
the city of wonders. We found here a reasonably 
good hotel, conducted by natives and bearing the 
pretentious name of “Grand New.” It was neither 
grand nor new, but we were very comfortable. The 
city lies along the slopes of the Anti-Lebanon side 
and is filled with wonderful gardens and great old 
trees, with a beautiful stream that waters and keeps 
green the gardens. 


176 Dust and Ashes of Empires 

I climbed to the top of the mountain back of the 
little city and was repaid for the hard trip. Looking 
across to the west, one sees the mighty snow-capped 
Lebanons, with a peaceful valley below. Strangely 
enough, the Orontes flows softly northward over near 
the Anti-Lebanon side, while the Litani flows south¬ 
ward along the Lebanon side. For as much as a mile 
the two rivers apparently flow side by side, one flow¬ 
ing north and the other south. Of course they are 
some distance apart and one is influenced by the 
mountain range on the west and the other by the 
range on the east. 

In this valley there is here and there a lone column 
or a little circle of glorious columns. On top of the 
mountain are ancient tombs and what was once a 
mosque, with here and there a deep well and many 
vineyards, with the mountain side honeycombed 
with tombs. But the most glorious of all things you 
see are the mighty ruins of Baalbek. There is noth¬ 
ing like them in Western Asia, and you have them at 
great advantage here on the heights. Imagination 
runs rife as you stand here and wonder at the glories 
of the past, so glorious as to leave behind such mag¬ 
nificent ruins. 

The Greeks called the city Heliopolis, but the ori¬ 
gin of the city is unknown. The name occurs on old 
Egyptian inscriptions as Balbiki, which would indi¬ 
cate that it was early an altar of the sun god, for the 
Greeks identified it as Heliopolis, making Baal and 
Helios the same. About its pre-Roman days we know 
practically nothing. It comes into clear history when 
Augustus Caesar brought colonists from Rome and 
settled them in this valley as a part of the Roman 


Aleppo and the Orontes Valley 177 

military scheme, planting here a military colony 
that he could form into a buttress against the on¬ 
coming foes of the East or as an outpost station for 
his armies as he went on his Eastern conquests. 
Coins of Heliopolis show the town to have been a 
Roman colony as early as the first century A.D., 
while Antoninus Pius (138-161 A.D.) began a great 
temple to the three divinities of the city, Jupiter, 
Mercury, and Venus. This temple was finished by 
Caracalla (211-217), its worship was suppressed by 
Constantine (324-337), and it was destroyed by 
Theodosius the Great (379-395), who built a church 
opposite the facade of the old temple. Among the 
broken cornices lying about amid the debris I came 
upon one with a design on it, consisting of a cross 
with Alpha on one side and Omega on the other and 
all inclosed in a laurel wreath. This was a part of the 
Theodosian church and indicated its magnificence. 

Arabic tradition attributes the building of the 
Acropolis to King Solomon, and all the descriptions 
of Solomonic building operations are fully met amid 
these glorious ruins. The Acropolis is wonderful, 
and chief among its wonders is the temple of Bacchus, 
the portal of which has been called the gem of the 
structure. It is of immense size and of most elabo¬ 
rate design. The detail of the workmanship, inde¬ 
pendent of the decorations, is enough to make a 
modern workman green with envy, while the marvel¬ 
ous touch of the artist in embellishing the whole is 
beyond description. Of course the design is con¬ 
sistent with the subject. Since it is the temple of 
Bacchus, the scheme is carried out in grapevines 
and garlands and nymphs. The inside room is 
12 


178 Dust and Ashes of Empires 

87 feet long, 73^ feet wide, and very high. Spiral 
staircases lead through the vestibule walls to the 
top, where one is very giddy from the height. The 
walls are divided into six fluted semi-columns and 
the ends with three Corinthian pilasters, all with 
most elaborate capitals. Below are a maze of sub¬ 
terranean vaults. On the outside the temple is 
surrounded by unfluted columns of huge size, fifteen 
on each side and eight at each end, each 52*/£ feet 
in height and standing ten feet from the wall of the 
temple itself. The cornice is most elaborate and 
carries out a well-conceived design of female figures 
and leafwork, while the ceiling shows at intervals 
fine busts of men and women, probably royal per¬ 
sonages connected with the court, certainly indi¬ 
vidual portraits. Everywhere amid this ruined 
grandeur one meets with surprise and astonishment 
that such workmanship should ever have been exe¬ 
cuted out here on the frontier, and still more that it 
has been so well preserved. The court of the altar 
is a huge space, 123 by 147 yards, and in the midst of 
it huge granite shafts that were brought from far up 
the Nile. 

Probably the most imposing sight at Baalbek is the 
remains of the Temple of Jupiter, which is not so 
well preserved as that of Bacchus, but its chief fea¬ 
ture is a row of six gigantic columns that stand out 
in almost complete isolation. They are sixty feet 
high themselves, and, standing on top of a high but¬ 
tress, can be seen for many miles. They hold erect 
the most splendid capitals and, defying time and 
weather, speak out of a glorious past to a far-away 
future. 


179 


Aleppo and the Orontes Valley 

All of this and more, for I have described only a 
small number of the many temples and altars that 
lie in the inclosure, which is surrounded by an outer 
wall of extraordinary size. On the west side are 
three stones which are the largest single blocks, 
in place, in any building in the world. Each one is 
ten feet thick and thirteen feet deep, while one of 
them is sixty-four feet long, another is sixty-three 
and three-fourths, while the third is sixty-three feet 
long. These stones are perfectly laid, fitting as well 
as any stone with dimensions far less. But this 
was not the final ambition of the builders, for lying 
in the quarries some distance away is one which was 
never cut loose from the mountain side, this latter 
being seventy feet long, fourteen feet high, and thir¬ 
teen feet broad. How these great stones were trans¬ 
ported and raised to their places must for the present 
remain a mystery. 

Everywhere in the ruins are signs of Turkish van¬ 
dalism. These scourges of the earth always leave a 
withering blight wherever they go. They have done 
much damage to columns and statues for the most 
trivial returns. Columns have been almost destroyed 
and probably many have actually been overturned, 
in an effort to secure the small bit of metal which 
braced them. 

As one walks through this grand ruin he passes 
hundreds of overturned columns, some of which are 
eight feet in diameter. There are marvelous foun¬ 
tains and sacred baths and a hundred other things, 
all embellished to the last degree, but all lingering 
out here in their loneliness, long after their creators 
are gone, leaving no successors. 


CHAPTER XVI 

The Lebanons and the Syrian Coast 

Our departure from Baalbek was a stormy one, 
all the populace being down to see us off and each 
disappointed that he was letting us get away without 
having fleeced us out of more money. Our baggage 
man possessed one poor donkey which had been 
forced to carry enormous loads up the hill to the 
hotel and the driver had worked faithfully and well; 
but when we had paid him all that the hotel man had 
indicated was the right amount and then twice given 
him baksheesh, he threw his money on the ground 
and walked up and down the track, cursing us and 
our forbears for many generations back, then clung 
to our carriage until we were well out of the town. 

As we left the town a fusillade of shots was fired 
and we thought for a time that we were being at¬ 
tacked; but nothing seemed to come of it, and we 
were soon on our way down the valley of the Litani 
to Rayak, where we changed trains for the cogwheel 
road, which was to lead us over the Lebanons. As 
we moved out from Rayak, we were amid the debris 
of war—burned cars and destroyed engines and other 
indications of battle. Rayak was held jointly by the 
French and Arabs, this being the dividing line at 
that time, and by agreement both remained in it. It 
is the junction for Damascus. 

Our train left Rayak at sundown, and we caught 
our first view of Mount Hermon, covered with snow 
( 180 ) 


181 


The Lebanons and the Syrian Coast 

and glistening in the red rays of the setting sun. 
Then we plunged into the dark mountain passes and 
began to climb until by 9:30 P. M. we had reached the 
top and were looking down on the lights of Beirut; 
but it was well past midnight when we arrived at 
that city, where we found Prof. Harold Nelson await¬ 
ing us with carriages, and sometime in the early 
morning hours we were at home in the American Uni¬ 
versity dormitory and felt that once again we had 
reached civilization. The next morning our first con¬ 
cern was to cable home that we had crossed the most 
dangerous part of our journey and were now safe— 
a message that we found afterwards was not true. 
But we were glad to be in a more favorable situation 
than we had been. 

Beirut is a city of great beauty, situated on a 
high promontory overlooking a fine bay, whose cir¬ 
cular coast line is ever at the foot of the Lebanon 
Mountains. St. George’s Bay lies between the height 
of Ras-Beirut and Mount Dimitri. It has about 
two hundred thousand population and is a city of 
gardens and trees. It is also a great place for flowers, 
while oranges, bananas, figs, and other fruits flourish, 
stately cypress trees are set in the midst of rose and 
geranium gardens, and ever the sea is in sight on one 
side and the snow-capped mountains on the other. 

Beirut is mentioned in the Tel-el-Amarna letters 
as Berytus, and was, of course, much older than this 
(1375 B.C.). Perhaps its greatest glory was under 
Fakhreddin (1595-1634), a Druse prince who did much 
to embellish the city and surrounding country. On 
the south side of the city there is a very large grove 
of small pines, planted by Fakhreddin about 1600 A.D. 


182 Dust and Ashes of Empires 

as a protection from the encroaching sands. These 
pines, more than three hundred years old, are relative¬ 
ly small, but have ever been a boon to the city. 

The American University, formerly the Syrian 
Protestant College, is an undenominational institu¬ 
tion which, in fact, does not insist on any form of 
religion, but includes among its students quite a num¬ 
ber of cults, chief of which is probably the Moham¬ 
medan. It had last year about one thousand students 
from many countries—from far-away Persia, from 
the Hejaz, Central Africa, Turkey, and far into 
Russia. A good medical department, with training 
school for nurses, is doing a wonderful work among 
the native Syrians. Good doctors, graduates from 
this school, are to be found in many places, minister¬ 
ing to their people with the skill of the American 
trained medicine man. Besides the Medical Depart¬ 
ment, it has Pharmacy, Commerce, Biblical Archaeol¬ 
ogy, Liberal Arts, Preparatory, and Astronomical 
departments with a fine telescope, seismographic 
apparatus, etc. The seismological station and tele¬ 
scope are in charge of Professor Brown, son of the late 
Dr. Francis Brown, of Union Seminary. 

We met a number of Americans here and enjoyed 
our stay at the university very much. The first morn¬ 
ing I went to breakfast at the dormitory dining 
room I was astonished to see an Atlanta man walk 
in and take his place at the table. I at once sent a 
waiter to ask if he did not come from Atlanta, Ga., 
U. S. A., and he came over and renewed acquaintance, 
for he was Professor Webster, of the Atlanta Uni¬ 
versity, who, having a year of leave, chose to spend 


The Lebanons and the Syrian Coast 183 

it teaching over there. It seems good to meet a 
friend so far away from home. 

The French are in charge of all this country, hav¬ 
ing been given the mandate over Syria by the Peace 
Conference, much to the disgust of the Syrians and 
the discredit of the British, who had guaranteed 
them that such a consummation would not happen. 
The Arabs want only Arab government; but if they 
have any other, they want the French least of all. 
This comes about from the fact that the French are 
not good colonizers, and their treatment of the Mo¬ 
roccan Moslems during and after the war is a stench 
in the nostrils of every good Moslem. The French 
occupation reminded me of the occupation of the 
land of Palestine by Joshua when he apportioned out 
the land and then said to the people, “ Go take it for 
yourselves; all is yours that you conquer/' The 
Peace Conference said, “Here is the Syrian mandate, 
if you can take it." And they had made little prog¬ 
ress in taking it when we were there. Fighting was 
going on a short distance above us and a large de¬ 
tachment of the French army had been cut off at 
Ain Tab. French soldiers in Beirut were com¬ 
mitting many depredations, and General Gournot's 
reply to protests was that it could not be helped, 
since they were unable to get any but the worst of 
soldiers out there and were glad enough to get what 
they had. 

One morning we took Ford cars, which cost us a 
small fortune, and made a trip up the Syrian coast, 
leaving the city from the east side, crossing the 
Beirut River, and following the coast line until we 
came to the city waterworks, where we found a 


184 Dust and Ashes of Empires 

canny old Scotchman, with a very German name, who 
had a whole house full of flints which had been picked 
up in the vicinity. We spent some time at his house 
examining his curios and his home as well, for he has 
a wonderful little home among green gardens with the 
house sitting up over the tides of the Mediterranean 
and most beautiful for situation. 

Our next stop was the Nahr el-Kelb, which, being 
translated, means "Dog River,” a very important 
historical spot. It is a rugged canyon, with an old 
Arabic stone bridge across the little stream which is 
called a river. There are three roads around the face 
of the cliff, overhanging the sea, one above the other. 
The first one is the Roman road, with paving that 
looks like concrete and with an inscription of the 
Emperor Marcus Antoninus. The next one above is 
the old Egyptian-Assyrian and Babylonian road, 
with inscriptions by Esarhaddon, Rameses II., 
Shalmaneser II., Tiglath Pileser, and others. On the 
third road, the lowest one, are many inscriptions, by 
more modern chieftains. One panel in the rock is of 
Napoleon III., but he cut out one of Rameses II. in 
order to cut in his own. Just above this is one of the 
British and French armies, recording their victory 
here in 1918 A.D. This was the turning point of the 
armies of all times, and each made the record of his 
victories and designed these inscriptions to be an 
announcement of the Empire boundaries of that par¬ 
ticular monarch. On the other side of the stream 
under the dense foliage is an inscription of Nebuchad¬ 
nezzar II. 

The situation is picturesque and romantic, the 
stopping place of the armies of the world's greatest 


The Lebanons and the Syrian Coast 185 

empires for more than forty centuries. How it came 
to be called Dog River, no one seems to know; but 
there is a tradition that a great stone dog used to 
stand at the point of the cliff and was thrown down 
into the sea, and the natives show you the block 
lying in the water. I am inclined to believe that the 
Egyptian god Anubis, which was worshiped in the 
form of a jackal, may have had an image set up here 
at one time, which gave the name to the locality. 

Some fifteen miles up the Syrian coast is the Nahr 
el-Ibrahim, or the River of Abraham, a great gorge 
that is plowed through the mountains and at the 
opening of which are the foundations of an ancient 
temple of Tammuz or Adonis, worshiped in the an¬ 
cient time by women. According to the tradition 
Tammuz died and the women came and wept copious 
tears over his grave until, under the influence of the 
tears, he arose again; which seems to be an allegory 
of the seasons, where the vegetation dies during the 
winter and through the influence of the winter rains 
it is born anew in the spring. The form of the rit¬ 
ual of this religion was so obscene that the Emperor 
Constantine suppressed the worship at this place. 
The river which runs out of this gorge is sometimes 
red, owing to some mineral deposit farther up the 
stream. This gave rise to the tradition connected 
with the wounding of Adonis by the wild boar, and 
it is said that he bleeds again at certain seasons and 
thus reddens the stream. The springs up the river 
are known as the springs of Adonis. As one ap¬ 
proaches the gorge and looks straight from the shores 
of the sea, it is impossible to see any opening in the 
mountains; but once you have started in you find 


186 Dust and Ashes of Empires 

the deep gorge turning sharply to the left, and just as 
it turns there is a very ancient bridge spanning the 
stream, which was built by the Romans or earlier, 
and along the left cliff is an old road probably older 
than history—certainly the one used by Thutmose 
III., of Egypt, in the beginning of the fifteenth cen¬ 
tury B.C., when he marched to the conquest of 
Kadesh and the Orontes valley. This is the only pos¬ 
sible pass from the sea to Kadesh through the Leb- 
anons. 

Twenty miles from Beirut and about five miles 
above the Nahr el-Ibrahim is the city of Jebeil, or 
Byblos, where our word Bible comes from. We do 
not know just how the word was connected with this 
city, but it is supposed that papyrus was first formed 
into the shape of a book at this place. Philo the Jew, 
who was born here, said the city is the oldest in the 
world. It certainly has had a great history. Snefru 
the Egyptian sailed into this harbor with thirty 
ships nearly three thousand years before the Chris¬ 
tian era. 

It was called Gebal during the days of King Solo¬ 
mon, and here he secured the skilled hewers of stone 
for his temple (1 Kings v. 18; see also Ezek. xxvii.). 
It figured largely in the conquests of the Crusaders 
and was held by them for eighty-five years, from 
1103 to 1188 A.D., when it was recaptured by the 
great Saladin. A large mound is partly covered by 
the present village, which has about one thousand 
inhabitants, and on top of the mound is a great 
Crusader castle. The streets are lined with ancient 
columns, with splendid capitals, often seen lying 


187 


The Lebanons and the Syrian Coast 

in the gutters of the town. One large fragment of a 
Crusader castle lies out from the shore in the bay. 

On this trip and all of the subsequent ones, as long 
as the expedition remained together, Prof. Harold 
Nelson, a member of the faculty of the college at 
Beirut, accompanied us. At Jebeil we looked for a 
place to have our lunch and finally located a native 
restaurant, which was presided over by a native 
woman. She was a holy sight. Like all other Syrian 
women, she wore her capital in the form of jewelry— 
several necklaces, bracelets, anklets, and rings and 
earrings in abundance. She also used paint with a 
lavish hand and was abominable in her general ap¬ 
pearance. We said what we pleased about her in 
English and talked to her in French and Arabic, and 
finally one of our party said, "I wonder if she can 
make us an omelet? ” She replied, “ Sure! ” In aston¬ 
ishment, we said, “Now what part of America are 
you from?” “Denver, Colorado/' she replied. We 
then asked her if she liked Syria better, and she 
replied with feeling, “Say, I had rather starve to 
death in Denver than be a queen over here.” 

The mound of Byblos should be thoroughly exca¬ 
vated, as I have no doubt it will be some day, and 
should yield interesting data of the long ago. 

On our arrival at Tripoli we found a very warm 
welcome from the American missionaries, Mr. Fowler, 
Mrs. Eddy, Miss Doolittle, and others. Mr. Bull 
and I were sent to be guests of the American Relief 
Station at the Mena. The Mena means the Port and 
is about two miles from Tripoli proper. The Amer¬ 
ican Relief Station was in charge of Miss Elizabeth 
Hutton, an Australian-English nurse who had won 


188 Dust and Ashes of Empires 

the highest medals in Egypt during the war, and here 
at Tripoli she was rendering a great service to the 
people as the representative of the American Relief 
work. She has a great hospital, so we went in and 
watched one of the native doctors performing an 
operation on the eyes. One of the most common 
forms of trouble in the East is eye trouble. We were 
royally entertained. While Miss Hutton had never 
been in America, she knew something of American 
dishes, tried to make us feel at home, and succeeded 
well. 

Just back of the American Relief station is a house 
in which eleven children were killed and eaten during 
the war, and the women who were guilty were tried 
and exonerated by the Turkish court, on the ground 
that the famine conditions justified the act. The 
women, however, died as a result of eating these 
emaciated children, which they had picked up from 
the streets. 

Mr. Fowler said that while cannibalism was not 
common there, it was common for women to eat their 
babies after they died. Such were the war conditions 
of that land. 

Tripoli is a city of about forty thousand inhab¬ 
itants and is well situated, lying between the moun¬ 
tains and the sea, with a great Crusader castle over¬ 
looking the whole city and far out to sea. It is the 
best preserved castle that we saw anywhere, is im¬ 
mense, and was probably built by Count Ramund 
of St. Giles in 1104-09. It is said that this Crusader 
destroyed, on capturing the city, an Arab library of 
more than a hundred thousand volumes. It is said 
that as early as 1289 there were in this city alone as 


The Lebanons and the Syrian Coast 189 

many as four thousand silk-weaving looms, and the 
industry here is still very great. 

Several of our party went to the end of the Leba¬ 
non range, about twenty miles north of Tripoli, and 
viewed the gap through which “The Recruits” must 
have marched to the relief of Rameses II. when he 
was attacking Kadesh in the thirteenth century B.C. 
We stopped at a hill, with a good view of the lower 
end of the Nussireyeh Mountains on our left and the 
Lebanons on our right. We were warned not to make 
this trip, but all is well that ends well, and this one did 
end well. On our way back we stopped at a Dervish 
monastery, where there is a very beautiful fountain 
of water, fed by a secret spring and containing many 
sacred catfish, which are said to be the departed souls 
of good Moslems. 

On the way back to Beirut we came to the high 
cliffs, around whose shoulder, far above the sea, 
winds the road, which seems to hang dangerously 
over the waters far below. The day was warm, we 
were exceedingly dusty, and when we came to the 
water’s edge every man leaped from his Ford and 
plunged into the sea for a swim. 

This is a most interesting coast and always has 
been. It is wonderfully beautiful, with the sea on 
one side and the Lebanon Mountains on the other, 
rising to the heights of sublimity. Along this coast 
marched the armies of the ancient empires of battle 
and to conquest. From this coast went out the 
Phoenician ships to barter with the commerce of the 
world. On this coast were developed the very 
foundations of civilization, so far as letters and com¬ 
merce are concerned. The alphabet, the word 


190 Dust and Ashes of Empires 

“book,” many shipping devices, and a thousand 
other things had their earliest beginnings here or 
were in operation when history dawned. 

On May 24 we left Beirut for the city of Sidon, 
intending also to go to Tyre, but found on our arrival 
at Sidon that the war was in progress at Tyre, the 
whole region infested by bandits who were terrorizing 
the natives as well as foreigners, and the French com¬ 
mandant refused to permit us to go farther. We 
left Beirut by way of the great grove of pines set 
out by Fakhreddin in 1600 A.D. These ancient 
pines will measure perhaps no more than eight inches 
in diameter, on the average, and are thirty-five feet 
high. The road to Sidon is nothing like so pictur¬ 
esque as that to Tripoli, but there are many villages 
with houses covered with red tile and many of them 
dating back to the early Christian centuries. The 
road follows the coast almost due south from Beirut 
for twenty miles, and then as we round a promontory 
Sidon comes into view. It is called Saida and is 
situated on a promontory, as most of the towns of the 
Syrian coast are, and also on a knoll, on the top of 
which are the remains of a Crusader castle. Near by 
are the remains of Fakhreddin’s castle, in front of the 
town lies a small island, and the city is surrounded 
by the most beautiful gardens and extensive orchards 
of lemon, fig, orange, plum, apricot, and other fruits. 
Much trucking is done, and we saw large fields of 
okra, eggplant, and onions. The silk industry is most 
extensive, and for the first time in my life I saw 
silkworms feeding and the process of developing 
and carrying on the manufacture of silk. Large 
groves of mulberry trees supply the food for the silk- 


191 


The Lebanons and the Syrian Coast 

worms. Some tobacco is grown at Sidon, but not so 
much as farther north; and olives are, of course, 
everywhere along the coast. 

Sidon has about twelve thousand inhabitants, 
though of course you can never be very sure how 
many a city has in this region, for the fortunes of 
famine and war ever cause the numbers to fluctuate. 
In ancient times the city was of greatest importance, 
often mentioned in the Assyrian inscriptions and 
celebrated in the Homeric poems as rich in ore and 
versed in art. The Sidonians are mentioned in 
1 Kings v. 6 as skilled timbermen, and Ezekiel xxvii. 8 
mentions them as pilots as if they were the finest. 
Strangely enough, 1 Kings xvi. 31 mentions Eth- 
baal as the king of Sidon, though he is elsewhere 
given as the king of Tyre, and we are of course to 
suppose that Tyre and Sidon were under the same 
government at that time. Jeremiah xxv. 22 mentions 
the king of Sidon. Jesus visited this region (Mark 
vii. 24) and Christianity had been introduced here 
in Paul's day (Acts xxvii. 3). A bishop of Sidon was 
at the Council of Nicaea in 325 A.D. The city suffered 
frightfully during the Crusades, and one of its present 
mosques, the Jami el Kebir, is said to have been 
formerly the church of the Knights of St. John. 
Tyre and Sidon were long famed for their purple 
dyes, on account of which they were known to the 
uttermost parts of the then known world; and amid 
the rubbish heaps are still to be found great piles of 
purple seashell from which these dyes were made. 

While at Sidon we were the guests of Dr. Ford, the 
veteran missionary, more than seventy years of age and 
born at Sidon, the son of a missionary. He has a 


192 Dust and Ashes of Empires 

most wonderful home, filled with antiquities, the 
most interesting of which are his great collection of 
sarcophagi of the early Sidonian kings and nobles. 
They are of marble and some of them of the most 
exquisite design. Here were found the famous sarcoph¬ 
agi of Alexander. No one knows where Alexander 
the Great was buried, but he died in Babylon and was 
probably buried there; but these two marvelous 
pieces are of purest marble and carved with the 
finest Greek designs depicting Alexander, with a line 
of weeping women, in different attitudes. These are 
now in the museum at Constantinople; and all of the 
others would have been except for the fact that when 
the war broke out Dr. Ford secretly buried twenty- 
five of these marble coffins and thus saved them from 
the vandalism of the Turks. He has also a wonder¬ 
ful ring of pure gold, set with ruby, picked up in the 
fields, and very ancient. 

The valley between Dr. Ford's house and the city 
is filled with tombs deep down under the soil and cut 
into the solid rock. Here were found many splendid 
sarcophagi. Northeast of the town is a wall, which 
was probably a part of a temple erected by Esh- 
munezer in the fourth century before Christ. On the 
lower side of this temple wall is a retaining wall al¬ 
most entirely hidden and of very large stones. Here 
was found the magnificent sarcophagus of King 
Eshmunezer, inscribed in Phoenician characters and 
cursing the people who shall disturb his bed of death 
and announcing that no trinkets are to be found in 
his tomb. This splendid piece of work is now in the 
Louvre and its inscription is one of the most impor¬ 
tant of Semitic inscriptions. 


193 


The Lebanons and the Syrian Coast 

Looking south from Sidon, we could see plainly the 
promontory and the little town now known as Sara- 
fand, but which is most likely the ancient village of 
Zarephath, where Elijah was supported by the 
widow—referred to in 1 Kings xvii. 8, and also under 
the name of Sarepta in Luke iv. 26. 

13 


CHAPTER XVII 

Damascus: A Paradise in the Desert 

On our return to Beirut we made ready for the 
onward journey, and on May 28 were on our way over 
the rugged Lebanons, by way of the cog road, toward 
Damascus. The road up the mountains is extremely 
zigzagging. Again and again you can look down on 
the road you have just passed over, although going 
in the opposite direction when you passed over the 
one below; and frequently you can see several tracks 
below you at once. Also there may be storms of rain 
around and below you and streaks of snow along the 
roadway. There are great mountain piles with 
snowcapped peaks, great gorges filled with the mists 
and forbidding as a robber's den, in the distance 
glorious snow-crowned Hermon, and far back to the 
west the sea rising as if to stand on edge, with white 
sails here and there seeming to navigate the very 
sky. 

What a part these mountains have played in history 
and literature! They were once covered with majes¬ 
tic cedars famed for their strength and beauty, 
splendid fir trees, and oaks of giant stature. From 
these Lebanons every ancient empire brought its 
best wood. The ships of Phoenicia and Egypt, the 
coffins of Egypt and Babylonia, the house of God at 
Jerusalem, and every other great enterprise laid tribute 
on the Lebanons for their cedar and fir wood; and 
not only so, but the literature of the ancient world 
(194) 


Damascus: A Paradise in the Desert 195 

found much of inspiration in the hoary mountains 
with their splendid forests. Psalm after Psalm praises 
the glories of the forests of Lebanon, or the Psalmist 
watches the storm gathering about the head of 
Hermon and sweeping through the valleys until it 
spends itself in the wilderness of Kadesh and compares 
its strength with that of his God. But alas, these 
forests are no more. These beautiful hills are as 
barren as the desert, and only a very few trees remain 
as the descendants of those noble forests. 

The province of the Lebanons is still, as ever, the 
most poverty-stricken of all the provinces of Syria. 
At least, not since the days of the Phoenicians has 
the province been able to support itself, and any 
nation which holds it as a possession must subsidize 
it. Three very divergent classes live in it: Syrian 
Arabs, Druses, and French Catholics. None of these 
are very estimable people. The Catholics have a 
bad reputation and the Druses practice a secret rite 
in their religion and have long been trouble makers, 
though we met some very fine Druses on our journey. 

About noon we ran down into the valley of the 
Litani, with its green fields and trees. Just as we 
came down the side of the mountains we came in 
sight of one of the four or five remaining groves of 
cedars and then found ourselves seemingly at the 
foot of Mount Hermon, though we were in reality 
several miles distant from it. This valley is called 
Coele-Syria, or the depression of Syria. The road 
branches at Rayak, where we change cars; and 
almost as often as you change cars you change 
gauges. This is true all over the Near East. There 
are three gauges—standard, meter, and narrow—and 


196 Dust and Ashes of Empires 

they seem to delight in changing these. We now 
climb the Anti-Lebanons by another cog road and 
find ourselves crossing a mountain valley in the 
center of which is a lake. There is a Canaanitish 
altar placed at the top of each mountain range 
surrounding the valley and each altar faces the lake. 
These altars are of great antiquity and practically 
nothing is known of them. As we climb these moun¬ 
tains we follow a wady, the waters of which flow back 
toward the Litani until we reach the top of the water¬ 
shed and a tiny stream begins to flow in the other 
direction, increasing in volume until it becomes a 
rushing mountain torrent. It is the Barada, which 
Naaman called the Abana, and waters the city of 
Damascus. We follow the beautiful Barada along 
its winding course and often through tunnels, with 
an ever-increasing width of green, until it is com¬ 
paratively a wide valley with great chestnut trees 
and stately poplars, apricots, figs, and apple trees; 
then, just where the mountains join the desert, we 
reach Damascus and the Barada divides into seven 
streams and makes the desert blossom as the rose 
for twenty miles. It is the garden of the gods, in 
contrast with the desert and the barren mountains. 
At the time when we were there the apricots were 
full-ripe and their bright yellow made a pleasing 
appearance against the backgound of the blooming 
pomegranates. 

The Moslems have always referred to Damascus 
as the finest earthly picture of paradise. It is called 
by the natives Esh Sham, sometimes just Damas, 
and has always been famed for its wonderful gardens. 
It has always been the capital of the Syrian govern- 



THE STREET CALLED STRAIGHT IN DAMASCUS. 



WINDOW IN THE WALL OF DAMASCUS THROUGH 
WHICH PAUL IS SAID TO HAVE ESCAPED. 






































































































% 






































Damascus: A Paradise in the Desert 197 

ment when that government was in existence. Da¬ 
mascus is ninety miles from Beirut and is the lar¬ 
gest city of Syria, with a population of something like 
three hundred thousand. It is watered by the 
Barada (Cold), which oftentimes runs under the 
buildings of the city and is its greatest asset. This 
river was called Chrysorrhoas, or Golden Stream, 
by the Greeks, and Abana by the ancient Syrians, 
and we do not wonder that Naaman said it was better 
than all the waters of Israel, for it is very beautiful. 
The Pharpar, spoken of by Naaman, corresponds 
to the Nahr el A'waj, which runs some distance from 
the city. 

No one knows the antiquity of Damascus, but it 
was invaded by the early Assyrian kings, plays 
a part in their records, and their fortunes were in¬ 
volved with those of Northern Israel, at least from 
the rise of the dynasty formed by Rezin (1 Kings xi. 
23-25), and played a part in the prophetical history of 
Elijah and Elisha. Emory University has in its 
museum a clay tablet from Babylonia, dated “In the 
year that Damascus and Gomorrah were destroyed/' 
which places it very early. Fourteen thousand Chris¬ 
tians were massacred in the city in 1860. 

There are two hundred and forty-eight mosques in 
Damascus, the most famous of which is the great 
Omaiyade mosque, standing in a spot once occupied 
by a Roman temple, which was later a Christian 
church, under Theodosius, and named the Church of 
St. John because it is claimed that a casket contain¬ 
ing the head of St. John the Baptist is in it. In the 
eighth century A.D. a mosque of unusual splendor 
was erected on the site. It is said that twelve hun- 


198 Dust and Ashes of Empires 

dred artists were brought from Greece to assist in its 
decoration, while marble, gold, and precious stones 
were used in profusion. Six hundred golden lamps 
hung from the ceiling, which was itself inlaid with 
pure gold, while many of the columns were from older 
temples and palaces of Syria and the mosaics were the 
most splendid. This glory continued for only a short 
time and the great mosque has never been restored 
to its former splendor, but is still very magnificent. 
It has three minarets, the one on the southeast 
being that of Madinet /Isa, or the minaret of 
Jesus, and the tradition is that Jesus will descend at 
the last day and stand on the top of this minaret and 
judge the world. At the north portal of this mosque 
is the tomb of the great Saladin, the famous sultan 
who figured so conspicuously in the Crusades. He 
was one of the very great figures of the twelfth cen¬ 
tury, and has won a large place in the heart of the 
Christian world by his fine treatment of the Crusad¬ 
ers. Though he was by blood a Kurd, the worst of 
tribes, he was himself so magnanimous and so splendid 
in all of his history that all people respect and do 
homage to his memory. His tomb is a very elaborate 
one, rather too tawdry, and much neglected by those 
who should really be his greatest admirers. 

Some distance from the center and outside the 
city wall on the south is a burial ground, in which are 
the tombs of two of Mohammed’s wives and of 
his favorite daughter, Fatima. It is curious here, 
as elsewhere, to see the tomb of a holy man, with 
strings tied all over it, pieces of the garments of the 
sick, which have been brought there in hope of healing 


Damascus: A Paradise in the Desert 199 

by contact with the tomb of a dead saint. Truly the 
Moslem worship is a cult of the dead. 

A considerable portion of the old wall still stands 
with several gates, the best of which is on the east, 
which is at the end of the street called Straight. On 
this street is pointed out the house in which Paul 
sojourned after his conversion, also the house of 
Naaman the leper is shown near this; and as you go 
out through the gate and turn to the south you pass 
a rough window in the wall, through which Paul is 
said to have been let down on the night in which he 
made his escape from the city. Near this is a ceme¬ 
tery in which is the tomb of one St. George, who is 
said to have been a porter who helped Paul to escape. 
There are many other traditional spots, none of which 
has any likelihood of being authentic. I spent a day 
out among these spots and walked up and down the 
Straight Street, which is probably authentic, and 
thought of the time in which the great Apostle to the 
Gentiles came into the city, blind but groping his 
way toward the light, and of many other connections 
with Bible times. 

The bazaars are quite interesting and have been 
famous since the days of Ahab, and longer. One 
curious thing about the bazaars of all this Eastern 
country is that when you have made a purchase at 
the seller's own price, he still asks you for baksheesh. 
In the Sukhs—that is, the covered streets of bazaars 
—one sees every nationality of the East and many 
Bedouin of the desert, who have “ come to town," have 
on their very loudest abbas and galabaes, and stalk 
up and down, straight as an American Indian and 
proud as Lucifer, while heavily laden donkeys pass 


200 Dust and Ashes of Empires 

along to the ever-recurring cry, “Y’Allah/’ which, 
being literally translated, means, 0 Allah, or 0 God, 
but is the regular cry by which a cab driver hurries 
people out of his way, an overseer urges his men on 
to greater tasks, or a donkey driver endeavors to 
persuade his beast to show some signs of life. 

One night we decided to try to imagine ourselves 
in America by going to a movie. About 8:30 o’clock 
we arrived at the well-advertised place, secured 
tickets, and soon found ourselves in a dirty hole 
amidst all sorts of people sitting complacently around 
and a vender of ice cream walking the aisles and cry¬ 
ing a very familiar cry, for Americans. He would say 
over and over again, “Booze! booze!” which was his 
word for ice cream. After waiting a long, long time, 
Dr. Breasted went to the box office to see what was 
the matter with the show, and was informed that it 
did not open until ten o’clock; but to pacify us the 
manager told us we could go up and have a box seat, 
which, essaying to do, Dr. Breasted caught his 
trousers on a seat and nearly tore them off of him. 
Now to have your trousers torn that far from home 
is not a comfortable prospect; besides, when we 
arrived at the box seats, we found them just a little 
more uncomfortable than those we had left. So the 
evening was not all that it promised to be, and when 
the show started we gave up trying to think our¬ 
selves in America. 

The Syrian government was just in the making 
when we were there, and the king, Emir Feisal, 
showed us much kindness. He is a remarkably fine 
man and holds the confidence of his people. He is the 
son of the king of the Hedjaz and has a very kindly 


Damascus: A Paradise in the Desert 201 

countenance and courtly bearing. One day we 
visited the Parliament, listened to their discussions, 
were very graciously received, and in the afternoon 
of the same day a committee, consisting of the Presi¬ 
dent of the Parliament, the secretary, and one of the 
members, returned, with great formality, our visit, 
coming to our hotel and engaging in conversation 
with us. The matter up for discussion that morning 
had been whether or not the several states should 
come into the kingdom as separate provinces, much 
after the fashion of the United States, or as a more 
closely related government, after the European 
fashion, and they asked us what we thought. We 
were very cautious about engaging in politics, but of 
course intimated that America was satisfied with 
its form of government. The committee happened 
to be all of the same opinion, and the President, who 
was a high Moslem, wearing a white turban, with all 
that signifies, gave us a very curious illustration of 
his view of the subject. He said that a Moslem has 
a perfect legal right to divorce his wife or wives; but 
if he doesn't, he feels virtue within himself as an extra 
good man. So, said he, if the provinces come in of 
their own accord, they will feel better for having done 
so than if they were compelled to do something they 
did not want to do. 

That is to say, for each separate state to have a 
certain degree of self-determination would make them 
stronger and more willing than for them to be ordered 
from a central capital. The secretary was a Druse. 
Personally I cannot understand why the French, who 
have the mandate over these people, should since 
have put down this government and removed Emir 


202 


Dust and Ashes of Empires 


Feisal from being king, unless it was because Feisal 
was quite pro-British. Another curious law they 
were enacting was rather startling at first, but soon 
became clearer. They were voting to give women the 
franchise. Now women in the East are the most 
downtrodden animals in existence. There is no 
respect for them, and to find the Syrian government 
about to give them the franchise was unbelievable; 
but we asked this committee what were the restric¬ 
tions, and they said the franchise would be limited 
to those women who were graduates of Syrian 
schools, which practically eliminated the sex. I 
suppose they were looking to the future, when the 
government would establish schools and develop 
women to where they could vote. 

The American Consul, Mr. Young, was very kind 
to us, even to the matter of getting Dr. Breasted’s 
trousers mended. 


CHAPTER XVIII 
Bashan and Galilee 

On Eastern trains there are three classes: first, 
second, and third. First is passable, second is pos¬ 
sible, and third is unthinkable. So we secured, as 
usual, first-class compartments a day ahead. We 
had done this from Baalbek, but rode in a freight 
car on our first-class tickets. Only three trains per 
week went out of Damascus, and they were uncer¬ 
tain. Soon after our journey out, the Bedouins 
attacked this train and killed a hundred people, in¬ 
cluding some Italian officers. When, on June 1, 
we went down at 6 a.m. to get into our compart¬ 
ments, we found them occupied by some very hand¬ 
somely dressed Bedouins, though we had securely 
locked them the evening before. We found the rail¬ 
road inspector, who was going down with us that day, 
and he said he would put them out. He endeavored 
to do so, but a bearded Bedouin took a bright dagger 
out of his bosom, saying that he would put it in the 
bosom of the first man who came up there, and so we 
took a third-class compartment that day. These 
Bedouins had been summoned to Damascus by the 
king, had his passes, and nothing could be done with 
them. When we found our car, we were quite sur¬ 
prised to find a small compartment, for third-class 
cars have nothing but just a big room and you find 
your seat on the floor. Some women were sitting on 
their baggage in the aisle, one of them was crying, 

(203) 


204 Dust and Ashes of Empires 

and as we moved along her tears increased. When 
the train would stop she would invariably get out and 
in front of somebody and howl at the top of her voice. 
We at first wondered if she had lost a relative or was 
being deported or some other disaster had overtaken 
her, but finally learned that we were riding in the 
harem compartment and she had been put out for 
our convenience. 

On leaving Damascus we had observed many re¬ 
cruits for the army marching to the station and they 
were placed on this same train. They were con¬ 
scripts, and along by their sides marched their 
women, wives and mothers, who stayed with them 
till the train pulled out; and of all the wailing one 
ever heard this was the worst. They would lie down 
on the ground, sit down and sway to and fro, throw 
hands full of dirt on their heads and rub it in, all the 
while crying at the top of their voices; and when the 
train moved they ran just as long as they could, try¬ 
ing to keep up with it and making the morning hideous 
with their howlings. 

The train from Damascus runs over the Hauran 
Railway. It leaves from the station of Meidan and 
for a time proceeds through the Ghuta, or gardens 
that surround the city; the old Pharpar is then 
crossed, and once more you are in sight of Mount 
Hermon and the higher ranges of the Lebanons. 
About twelve miles out the road leads to the higher 
plateaus formed in most ancient times by a gigantic 
lava flow. Damascus lies immediately on the edge 
of the Syrian desert, which stretches out eastward, 
while northward and westward are the high moun¬ 
tains; but most desolate of all its surroundings are 


Bashan and Galilee 


205 


the high lava plains of the south, and over them our 
road begins to bend to the west, I think it was over 
this way that Paul must have come on his way to 
Damascus, breathing out threatenings and slaughter 
and seeking the blood of the saints, but finding in¬ 
stead the blood of Jesus and its cleansing power which 
made him a savior rather than a destroyer. The 
place of Paul's conversion is pointed out, but of 
course nobody knows where it was. Also a station is 
passed just after reaching the higher plain, called 
to-day “Mezar Elyesha,” the shrine of Elisha. 
Perhaps the most traditional spot along the way or 
about Damascus is the mountain called Jebel Kasyun, 
for the Moslems tell us that on this mountain 
Abraham learned the doctrine of the unity of God, 
Adam lived here, on its slopes Cain killed Abel (which 
gave the red color to the hill), and somewhere along 
its sides Elijah anointed Elisha and Hazael, the one 
to be prophet and the other to be king of Syria. 

Some twenty-five or thirty miles below Damascus 
we came suddenly upon the most remarkable lava 
flow to be found anywhere. It must be twenty miles 
long and at least half as wide, where the lava flowed 
down from the mountains, suddenly cooled, and re¬ 
mains with much the appearance of a river of brown 
rock. It has sometimes been described as the sudden 
solidification of a troubled sea. The natives call it 
El Lejah, or the hiding place. We are now in the 
Hauran, the western border of which was called 
Bashan in Bible times. Soon amid the broken lava 
wheat fields appear, and before we reach Der'a we 
are running through immense fields of grain, four or 
five hundred acres in a body, where hundreds of 


206 Dust and Ashes of Empires 

natives are harvesting the wonderful crop. This is 
called the granary of Syria; and while it is not so 
prolific as the American fields, and is only in a small 
compass, yet the cost of producing it is so little that 
the net profit must be great. The fields stand ripe 
and ready for harvest for months without damage, 
and the harvesters work in single groups, hundreds 
working together and harvesting one field after 
another until the whole country is finished. They 
often pull the grain instead of cutting, and what cut¬ 
ting is done is with the same kind of sickle that was 
used by their most ancient ancestors. The grain is 
carried to the threshing floors on donkeys and 
camels, except where the crop is small, in which case 
it is carried by women and children. The threshing 
floor has never changed—some flat rock surface, on 
which the grain is piled and oxen or ponies driven over 
it. Usually a boy on a pony begins the process of 
threshing because he can the more easily keep on top 
of the pile until it begins to spread out and filter 
down; then a drag or wooden sled is drawn over it by 
oxen, and finally workmen with wooden forks throw 
the chaff high in the air, where the wind drives it 
away and leaves the grain cleaner and cleaner. I 
have seen large piles of this wheat without^ the sug¬ 
gestion of chaff or dirt in it. It is then put in bags, 
loaded on camels, and thus transported to the market 
place. The last station before reaching Der’a is 
Khirbet el Ghazaleh, a great shipping point for 
wheat. 

We were due at Der’a at noon, but did not reach 
it until 2:30 P.M., when we had our first bit of lunch 
since the early morning hours. This city represents 


Bashan and Galilee 


207 


the ancient Edrei of Numbers xxi. 33 and other 
Bible references. There are something like four 
thousand inhabitants in this central city of the Hau- 
ran and the town has been well known since the days 
of Moses. The Romans embellished it, as did the 
Caliphs later, and many strange remains are to be 
observed in the vicinity to-day, not the least of which 
are the labyrinthine subterranean dwellings about 
which we know nothing. 

We changed trains at Der’a and proceeded back 
toward the northwest, for a time almost doubling 
back on our own tracks. Herds of cattle, fine cattle, 
were to be seen along the roa4- We had seen sheep 
and goats everywhere, but these were the first herds 
of cattle that we had seen on the entire journey. 
Neither in Egypt, Mesopotamia, nor irt northern 
Syria are to be found more than milch cattle, ana here 
for the first time we are seeing the herds of fine catxK 
for which the region has been famous since the day? 
of the Psalmist. 

Soon after leaving Der'a we plunged into the deen 
gorge of the beautiful Yarmuk, suddenly coming 
down from the plateau into this narrow stream. We 
passed first the village of Zeizun, where the road al¬ 
most entirely encircles the town and on the upper 
side of which a stream of water pours over the em¬ 
bankment, making a very high and beautiful water¬ 
fall. The train then crosses and recrosses the gorge, 
ever coming down to a lower level and descending 
with the stream itself, fringed with the most beauti¬ 
ful oleanders, which were in bloom and seemed to 
have been trimmed by some expert gardener, and, 
contrasted with the lava plateau, formed a most 


208 Dust and Ashes of Empires 

pleasing picture. An occasional fox could be seen 
standing fearlessly watching the train. At El Ham- 
mi are the hot baths of Gadara, mentioned by Euse¬ 
bius as having good medicinal properties. Above 
this village on the highlands can be seen the village of 
Mukeis, whose inscribed caves identify it with Gad¬ 
ara, mentioned in the New Testament in connection 
with the healing of the demoniac. 

Leaving the springs of El Hammi, and just as we 
were coming out of the valley of the Yarmuk, there 
was, on our left, a telegraph pole with the gruesome 
body of a Bedouin that had been hanging there for 
two weeks. His crime was that of killing Jews, and 
the British authorities hung him up there to warn 
other Bedouins that the season for killing Jews was 
closed. 

Almost as soon as we emerged from the valley of 
the Yarmuk we found ourselves in a widening valley, 
and, looking toward the right wing of the fan-shaped 
opening, we were startled to see the most beautiful 
vision that had yet met our eyes, for there, nestling 
among the hills, like one of God's diamond dewdrops, 
was the wonderful Lake of Galilee. No writer has 
ever adequately described it, and I do not wonder 
that Jesus loved to linger upon its shores. It is a 
tiny lake, the greatest length of which is thirteen 
miles and its extreme width seven and one-half miles, 
and except for the southern side it has very little 
shore, for the mountains come down almost to the 
very water's edge. Its surface is six hundred and 
eighty feet below sea level and its greatest depth is 
about one hundred and fifty feet at high water and 
twenty feet less at low water. It is said to abound 


Bashan and Galilee 


209 


in fish, and a few fishing boats are still to be seen on 
its blue waters. The vegetation along its banks is 
luxuriant and tropical. 

The ruins of Bethsaida and Capernaum are on the 
north side, but there is some dispute as to the actual 
location of these cities, which figured so prominently 
in the life of Jesus and his apostles. To one who 
comes to Palestine for the first time it seems that he 
is entering the very sacred precincts of the Bible 
itself. The village of Samakh lies on the southern 
shore, is now a British military camp, and the danger 
of traveling about the lake is very great. 

On leaving Samakh we follow down the valley for 
some time and finally, just where the Yarmuk makes 
junction with it, we cross the Jordan. Here again 
we experience the thrill of childish dreams coming 
true, and we are actually on the ground and dealing 
with those places and names that have seemed to 
live only in the Book. We now have a wondrous 
view; over the Galilean hills the sun goes down in a 
blaze of golden glory, and as we turn and look back 
almost at the same moment the full moon is rising 
over the hills of Gilead and a flood of silvery light 
illuminates the valley of the Jordan. Running down 
the valley for a distance of seventeen miles, we turn 
up the western incline and find ourselves at the vil¬ 
lage of Beisan, the ancient Beth-shan, one of the 
most important cities of this region in the long ago. 
It stands just at the end of a narrow valley about 
eight miles in length and guards the important valley 
of Megiddo. It stands on a plateau three hundred 
feet above the Jordan valley and fills the gap between 
the hills of Galilee and the range of Gilboa. It was 
14 


210 Dust and Ashes of Empires 

an important fortress in the times of the early em¬ 
pires, and Joshua failed to take it because of the large 
number of iron chariots that were in use in his day. 
It was here that Saul's body was brought and hanged 
up after his death on Mount Gilboa, some five or 
six miles away. The huge mound representing the 
ancient city is soon to be excavated by the Univer¬ 
sity of Pennsylvania, and many interesting facts 
should be brought to light when the mound is opened 
up. 

Passing Beth-shan, we soon run alongside of Gil¬ 
boa, and in the light of the full moon we call to mind 
the scenes when Saul and Jonathan were making 
their last stand somewhere on the slopes of this 
range and seem once again to hear David, the sweet 
singer of Israel: "Ye mountains of Gilboa, let there 
be no dew nor rain upon you, neither fields of offer¬ 
ings; for there the shield of the mighty was vilely 
cast away, the shield of Saul, not anointed with oil. 
. . . How are the mighty fallen in the midst of 
battle!” 

Just at the western end of the Gilboa range and 
north of the most western peak, on a small hill, is 
Jezreel, a city builded by the kings of Northern 
Israel, the place of Naboth's vineyard, and the scene 
of the battle which resulted in the death of Joram, 
king of Israel, and Ahaziah, king of Judah. From 
this city and up this valley traveled the first great 
prophets of Israel, Elijah and Elisha, and through 
this narrow lane passed the armies of the ancient 
world going on to conquest. 


CHAPTER XIX 
Esdraelon, Sharon, and Sorer 

The valley of Megiddo, which we now enter, has 
been the world's great battle ground for all the cen¬ 
turies of human history. Here the early Assyrians 
and Egyptians fought, and the Hittites struggled 
against both of them; here also fought Thutmose III. 
in the fifteenth century before the Christian era, 
Rameses II. the oppressor of Israel, Joshua, Gideon, 
Deborah and Barak, Saul and the later kings of Israel, 
the Crusaders, Napoleon Bonaparte, and Lord 
Allenby. So many battles have been fought in this 
valley that it is the symbol of the last great battle of 
the world. It has been called the valley of Jezreel 
and of Esdraelon, but the ancients called it Megiddo. 
On the southwest side of the valley there was a great 
city the ancient word for which was Ur. The city 
of the valley of Megiddo would then be Ur-Megiddo, 
and with the Greek ending would be Ur-Megiddon, or 
Armageddon, a term used to describe the battle of 
the end of the world. 

In shape the plain is a triangle, the longest side 
being from northwest to southeast, a distance of 
twenty miles, the other two sides being fifteen miles 
each. Within this triangle there are many evidences 
of a time when the hills of Galilee and those of 
Samaria met. Several ridges rise to unimportant 
heights on the face of the plain, while in the extreme 
northeast corner of the plain Mount Tabor rises, 

1211 ) 


212 Dust and Ashes of Empires 

like an inverted bowl, to a height of 1,843 feet above 
the level of the Mediterranean and more than 2,700 
feet higher than the Sea of Galilee; and from the 
plain it looks much higher, for it stands out absolute¬ 
ly alone, like a vast dome with wooded sides and 
fertile pastures up its slopes. Tradition places the 
scene of the Transfiguration on the top of Tabor, 
though this is doubtful, as the mountain was covered 
with houses at the time of Christ. The tradition, 
however, has been so persistent that three churches 
were early built on it to represent the three taber¬ 
nacles asked for by the disciples. It would have been 
an ideal spot for a great spectacular display of the 
divine glory—a thing we do not associate with the 
ideas of Christ's manifestation of himself while on 
earth. Just to the south of Tabor is the Hill of 
Moreh, possibly Little Hermon, around whose 
slopes were the towns of Shunem, Nain, and Endor, 
all well known to Bible students. Ever the principal 
city of interest is the city of Megiddo, which is now 
called the Mound of Lejjun. It is a great mound to 
the southwest of the valley proper, but still in the 
valley on one of the hills and near the foot of the 
western end of Carmel. Near the remains of Megid¬ 
do runs the river Kishon, famed in poem and story. 
Along its streams, which spread out over the valley 
into marshes, fought Deborah and Barak, and when 
the stars in their courses fought against Sisera in that 
battle it is probablo that a rain raised the Kishon 
until it filled the valley, the chariots of Sisera were 
mired in the marshes, and the victory was more com¬ 
plete on that account. That is what happened to our 
chariots, which were surnamed John Henry; and we 


213 


Esdraelon, Sharon , and Sorek 

found ourselves afoot, in that wonderful valley, 
because of its marshes, produced by the spreading 
of the Kishon. The great mound of Megiddo has 
been partially excavated; much of Babylonian in¬ 
fluence was found and the earliest known Hebrew 
seal, belonging to Jeroboam II. The University of 
Chicago expects to begin a thorough excavation of 
the mound at an early date. The equally early city 
of Taanach, mentioned again and again in the Bible, 
lies a very short distance southeast of Megiddo, and 
the two are frequently mentioned together. The 
Kishon runs through the narrow neck between 
Mount Carmel and the Galilean hills, into the plain 
of Acre, and empties into the sea. 

Several towns mentioned by Joshua in his conquest 
were located in this valley, and some mentioned much 
earlier. The farthest one south is Dothan, which is 
called by the natives “ Joseph's Pit,” and is mentioned 
in connection with the selling of Joseph by his breth¬ 
ren (Gen. xxxvii. 17); and indeed this would be in 
the pathway from the land of the Ishmaelites, be¬ 
yond Gilead, to Egypt. Dothan is in the plain of 
Dothan, which is rather an offshoot from the plain of 
Megiddo proper, and the bands of trading Ish¬ 
maelites would come in from Gilead by Beth-shan 
and Jezreel, turn in by Taanach, and proceed down 
the valley of Dothan in the direction of Egypt. 
Dothan seems to have been the seat of a school of 
the prophets in the days of Elisha. 

Mount Carmel is itself a very interesting place, 
was perhaps ever the site of an altar to some god and 
very early had one to Jehovah, and this was certainly 
true in the days of Elijah. It is not a single moun- 


214 Dust and Ashes of Empires 

tain, but a range twelve miles long and rising to a 
height of 1,810 feet above the level of the sea at its 
highest point. It was called by the Egyptians in 
ancient times “The Gazelle's Nose," on account of 
the end of the range projecting out into the sea like 
the nose of some animal. The range runs from north¬ 
west to southwest. The name means “garden," 
and in ancient times it was well cultivated and had 
many fine trees. There are many evidences of rich 
harvests and wine presses going back to an early day. 
It became the very symbol of fertility and excellency. 
Its position on the sea and as a place where the whole 
land could be observed, covered with fruits and 
flowers, made it a favorite place for altars. Baal 
claimed it and Jehovah worship soon established 
itself there. When Eli jah made his trial of the validity 
of Jehovah as a God of rainfall and harvests, he did 
not build the altar, but repaired it, showing that it 
had only fallen into disuse. Elijah used to go there, 
passing regularly by Shunem; and when the son of 
the Shunammite died and she went for Elijah she 
found him on Carmel. When our “chariots" were 
disabled in the waters or marshes of the Kishon, we 
succeeded in extricating one of them and sent it with 
as many of the party as could get into it on to Haifa 
while the others of us walked from the plain up to 
Nazareth, climbing the hill, avoiding the new British 
military road, and following the old, old road, worn 
down into the solid rock from twelve to eighteen 
inches by the feet of the multitudes which have 
climbed that same way for millenniums, and which 
must often have been trodden by the feet of the youth¬ 
ful Jesus. As we reached the crest of the hill, or ridge 


Esdraelon, Sharon, and Sorek 215 

which is the beginning of the Galilean hills, we stood 
and looked back over that wonderful valley (with 
its fields of ripe wheat, and some that were still 
green), seamed by the sprawling Kishon, with here 
and there the dust of a threshing floor. Tabor lay 
just at our left and Little Hermon a little way off, 
just beyond the range of Gilboa, while to our right, as 
we looked back southward, was the range of Carmel, 
looming up like some long reptilian giant sleeping by 
the sea. In front of us in the distance could be seen 
the towering heights of Ebal and Gerizim, with the 
mountains of Bashan far to the east and the Jordan 
valley running like some wriggling worm between. 
Behind us stood Hermon, ever looming in view, and 
the Lebanon Mountains flocking about its feet. We 
were standing on the outskirts of Nazareth, the 
native home of Him whose feet trod the waves of 
Galilee and walked over these rugged hills until he 
walked into the hearts of men and set up his kingdom 
there. He was the Prince of Peace; but as we 
climbed that hillside I stooped and picked up broken 
pieces of cannon and fragments of exploded shells, 
while here and there lay broken gun carriages and 
everywhere were signs of war, and to the left of us 
and the right of us there was the spit, spit, of the 
British machine guns at practice in the camps of 
war, for Nazareth is now a veritable military camp. 

Just over the hills to the north a short distance 
away is the village of Cana, where Jesus performed 
his first miracle at the marriage. Nazareth itself lies 
in a saucer-like depression at the top of the hills and 
has about fifteen thousand inhabitants. Its houses 
are nearly all white, with red tiled roofs, and are 


216 Dust and Ashes of Empires 

surrounded by green cactus hedges and fig trees, 
olives and vines. 

About one-third of the population are Greeks. 
You are shown the Church of the Annunciation, the 
limestone table on which Christ is said to have dined 
with his disciples after the resurrection, and the Well 
of Mary, which is a spring furnishing water for many. 
As this is the only spring of the town, it is almost 
certain that Jesus and his mother did drink from it. 
The carpenter shop of Joseph is also shown. 

We stopped at a hotel conducted by Germans and 
showing signs of having been without guests for 
some time. A large spring wagon was secured and we 
started back for Haifa. As we passed out of the town 
we came upon more threshing floors with men, 
women, and oxen threshing and winnowing the 
grain in much the same manner as in the days of His 
flesh. A still more splendid view was obtained as we 
passed along over the ridge toward the west. We 
were looking down on a plain of at least twenty 
battle fields and one could imagine a great pageant, 
as C. A. Smith would put it (See “Historical Ge¬ 
ography of the Holy Land/' pages 406-410). We were 
impressed with this great arena, traversed through 
the centuries by commerce, war, and judgment. 
From Jezreel you see the slaughterplace of the priests 
of Baal; you see Jehu ride from Beth-shan to the 
vineyard of Naboth at your feet; the enormous camp 
of Holofernes spreading from the hills above Jenin; 
marching and countermarching Syrians, Egyptians, 
and Jews in the days of the Hasmoneans; the ele¬ 
phants and engines of Antiochus, the litters of 
Cleopatra, the camps of the Romans and the wonder- 


r 



THE RUINS OF SHECHEM, JACOB’S' WELL, AND THE 
VALLEY OF SYCHAR. 



NAZARETH. 

A threshing floor where the oxen tread out the wheat just 
as in the days of Jesus and for a thousand years earlier. 











217 


Esdraelon, Sharon, and Sorek 

ful men of Old Rome at their heads—Pompey, Mark 
Antony, Vespasian, and Titus. Here crossed the 
early Christians; later came the Moslems from the 
desert, then the mighty Crusaders, till the magnifi¬ 
cent Saladin drove them out and the Mohammedan 
held sway until Napoleon the Great dreamed of an 
empire on the Euphrates and swept across here with 
his conquering forces, only to be beaten and recross 
this plain in his first retreat. Each of these great 
empires has not only fought here, but has also come to 
judgment. Since the days when the very stars 
seemed to fight in their courses against Sisera, it has 
seemed a place in which sudden and mysterious 
judgment has fallen upon the mighty, and the weak 
have been exalted to victory in the very hour of 
weakness. Here Saul sought the witch of Endor and 
lost his life in battle. Gideon won with stratagem, 
while still earlier Joshua fought with a consciousness 
that One was with him who was “the Captain of the 
hosts of the Lord.” Ahab and Jezebel reaped as they 
had sown and shed their blood on the sod of this 
valley, and so many wars have been fought in it that 
it has been the Armageddon of the nations. 1 

But not only did the troubled warriors of earth 
march and fight and die here, nor the prophet of 
God attempt to stay the mad passion for earthly 
glory, but also Jesus walked over this same plain, 
crossing and recrossing it, until at last it may be 
that in full view of this whole plain he ascended to 
heaven and the angels said, “As ye see him go 
away, so shall ye see him come again.” 

It was very impressive, driving over this historic 


Partly quoted from Smith. 



218 Dust and Ashes of Empires 

roadway through the moonlight, until toward mid¬ 
night we reached the Nassar Hotel at Haifa. It 
was also in blissful ignorance of any danger that we 
peacefully drove that twenty-four miles that night; 
for very soon afterwards this robber-infested road 
was the scene of many murders and robberies, and 
some months later one of the villages was wiped out 
by the fanatical Moslems, who killed in this one 
village three hundred people. 

Haifa is a city of twenty thousand people, beauti¬ 
fully situated at the foot of Mount Carmel and on the 
Bay of Acre. It is now the British seaport for 
Palestine and is much superior to Jaffa, which is 
almost inaccessible for the greater part of the year. 
The Bay of Acre is a splendid one, about ten miles 
in a straight line between Haifa and Acre. 

We left Haifa about 6 a.m. one day, soon rounded 
the “Gazelle’s Nose,” and pursued our way south¬ 
ward along a rather fertile plain until the road veered 
away from the seashore and skirted the Plain of 
Sharon, which reminds one of the high prairies of 
North America, not so much in appearance as in 
cultivation and produce. The plain runs along the 
coast for more than forty miles and is an average of 
ten miles wide. It was once covered thickly with oak 
forests, but is almost denuded at present, showing 
only a few trees. There are occasional hills and in 
the north there are marshes. Here and there are to 
be seen small farms of melons and vegetables, and 
sometimes a small orange grove and a few palms. 
The Plain of Sharon, more than Palestine itself, was 
the bridge of the ancient empires, for it was over this 
maritime plain that these armies marched and re- 


Esdraelon, Sharon, and Sorek 219 

marched, while the Hebrews from their hills could 
watch the kaleidoscopic action of the shuffling civili¬ 
zations of the world. Not only so, but the Plain was 
one of great beauty and in the long ago was famous 
for its fertility. Isaiah xxxv. 2 speaks of “the glory 
of Carmel and Sharon,” while Isaiah xv. 10 proph¬ 
esies of a time when “Sharon shall be a fold of flocks, 
and the valley of Achor a place for herds to lie down 
in.” The beauty and glory of the Plain have been 
extolled by poets of all time. 

There were many cities along this seacoast in 
ancient times, famous in the history of wars and of 
the Bible. Caesarea, founded by Herod the Great in 
13 B.C. and named in honor of Augustus, was the 
scene of the Gentile Pentecost, when, at the instance 
of the Holy Spirit, Peter went from Joppa to the 
house of Cornelius, in Caesarea, and the Holy Spirit 
fell on the Gentiles also. Paul was a prisoner here for 
two years and the place was visited by Philip. It 
early became the greatest of Roman outposts and 
literally the capital of Palestine in Roman days. It 
lies a few miles south of Mount Carmel and at the 
upper end of the Plain of Sharon. 

Early in the day our train came to Lud (Lod or 
Lydda), where we had breakfast and changed trains, 
for the “through train” to Egypt goes straight on, 
while the miserable little road from Joppa to Jerusa¬ 
lem crosses it at this point. Lud was the scene of the 
Council of Lydda or Diospolis, as the Graeco-Romans 
called it, where Pelagius defended himself on a 
charge of heresy in 415 A.D. Its founding is men¬ 
tioned in 1 Chronicles viii. 12, and by both Ezra and 
Nehemiah, always in connection with Hadid and 


220 Dust and Ashes of Empires 

Ono. The place has been rebuilt again and again 
after successive destructions by the fortunes of war, 
but contains at the present about seven thousand 
inhabitants and is surrounded by green gardens and 
fine orchards. It is probably best known to the world 
as the traditional site of the fight of St. George and 
the dragon and the burial place of St. George, though 
that very worthy saint has more reputed burial 
places than any other saint that ever lived on earth. 
But the symbolism of the tradition could find no 
better setting than here, for Lydda was the turning 
point of all the religions of that world and here the 
Philistines fought the Jews and the Christians fought 
with the Moslems. The Moslem tradition says that 
Christ will slay anti-Christ at the gates of Lydda. 

Whatever the traditions were, we found a very 
good breakfast and a very poor train out. About 
two miles out of Lydda is Ramleh, which is the 
Arabic word for Sandy, and it is well named. The 
town is almost the exact size of Lydda, was founded 
by Suleiman, one of the Omaiyade Caliphs, in 716 
A.D., and figured in an important way in the Cru¬ 
sades. It has been said to be the Arimathaea of the 
New Testament, but this is held to be impossible. 
There is a splendid mosque in the town which was 
probably once a Crusader church. A Franciscan 
convent covers the traditional site of the home of 
Joseph of Arimathaea. 

Four miles from Ramleh we pass the ruins of one of 
the five great cities of the Philistines, Ekron, now 
called Akir (Joshua xiii. 3). Very little trace of the city 
remains, although there is a Jewish colony of about 
three hundred. On the east side of the road and 


221 


Esdraelon, Sharon , and Sorek 

about a mile away on a rather high hill are the ruins 
of Gezer, the city which Pharaoh captured and 
presented to Solomon on the occasion of his marriage 
to the Egyptian princess. It is mentioned in the 
Tel el Amarna letters, was probably a city of the 
ancient Canaanitish period, and was never captured 
by the Hebrews, according to Joshua xvi. 10. Gezer 
commanded the natural approach from Jaffa to 
Jerusalem, and was therefore a very important city 
to Solomon. The mound was excavated by R. A. S, 
Macalister from 1902-1909 and five cities were ob¬ 
served. The first represented the period between 
3000 and 2000 B.C. and contained many flint in¬ 
struments. The second lowest strata represented a 
Canaanitish city with direct Egyptian influence, with 
scarabs and other indications of Egyptian culture, 
then the period of the Jewish culture. Many clay 
vessels and other things were found. 

As we proceed on our journey the Valley of Sorek 
is entered, where lived Delilah, with whom Samson 
fell in love to his final destruction. A little distance 
on are the remains of a place which has been iden¬ 
tified with Zorah, the birthplace of Samson. Also 
in this valley are the remains of Beth-shemesh, 
where the ark of God was brought when it first came 
out of the Philistine country. The mound of Beth- 
shemesh has been partially excavated. It shows 
signs of great antiquity and yielded many things of 
Israelitish and pre-Israelitish times, including pottery 
imported from Crete and Cyprus. A cave which 
gapes out at you from high up the mountain side, a 
little farther on, is called the cave of Samson, and it 
is thought that all of Samson’s exploits were carried 


222 Dust and Ashes of Empires 

out in this valley. The valley is very rugged and our 
train is climbing, climbing, ever climbing, from one 
height to another, until at times the poor little engine 
is unable to make it and has to stop. At one time the 
train stopped, began rolling backward, and we 
thought the brakes would never take hold, but finally 
we were puffing on. The coaches were awful 
inside. They had been used as Red Cross cars during 
the war and we sat on what were once beds for the 
wounded. The cushions had mostly disappeared 
and there was nothing but iron bars to sit on, so we 
preferred to stand and look out of the windows. As 
we struggled up the incline we passed the city of 
Bittir, or the ancient Beth-zur of Joshua xv. 58. Up 
the steep mountain sides there are patches of wheat, 
oftentimes no more than five yards square and 
looking as if the yield would not exceed two bushels 
to the acre; but, cultivated without expense, it yet 
yielded something to eat. We then crossed the 
valley of Rephaim, where David defeated the Philis¬ 
tines and where the giants are said to have lived in 
the long ago. We met in Jerusalem a Mr. Clark, who 
is a great collector of flints and who had some from 
the valley of Rephaim which were entirely too large 
for any living hand; so he argued that we have proof 
of the truth that here was the real valley of the 
giants, which figures so conspicuously in all literature, 
and in fact there was a well-worn thumb-mark on this 
flint which my own hand would not reach by an inch. 

George Adam Smith has a most wonderful descrip¬ 
tion of this approach to the Holy City. Leaving 
Jaffa and crossing the Maritime plain, one enters the 
Vale of Ajalon, where Joshua commanded the sun to 


223 


Esdraelon, Sharon , and Sorek 

stand still in that early battle. The valley leads us 
into the mountains of the central range and into the 
Wady Ali, which is a steep and narrow defile. Cross¬ 
ing this and turning south by southwest, the Wady 
el Ghurab is entered, which we follow until the valley 
of Sorek is crossed, when the Wady el Najil is entered. 
This leads to the Vale of Elah, which is said to be the 
scene of David's battle with Goliath. As you travel 
north or south along the Shephelah, you have the 
rugged Judean hills on the east and the strikingly 
low hills on the west. This is accounted for by Smith 
by the character of the rock on either side, that of the 
east being very hard and that of the west equally as 
soft, being sandstone, while that of the Judean hills is 
nummulite limestone and often pure lava. If you 
would turn toward Jerusalem, you must negotiate deep 
and narrow valleys. One can imagine Jesus having 
this in mind when he spoke of the strait and nar¬ 
row ways, one leading to the place of salvation and the 
other out to heathen lands and particularly the land 
of the Hebrews' great ancient enemy. Most of the 
battles between the Philistines and the Hebrews were 
fought along this line, and when on the ground it is 
easy to see why. The approach to the Hebrew ter¬ 
ritory was easy up to this point and hard beyond this, 
and the Philistines seldom got farther than the Shep¬ 
helah hills, while the Hebrews, accustomed to those 
rugged passes, usually held them with ease. In the 
book of Samuel we have the story of one of these wars, 
in which the Philistines taunted the Hebrews for hid¬ 
ing in holes (1 Sam. xiv. 11). The entire roadway 
from Jaffa to Jerusalem is filled with historic inter¬ 
est, and this is true no matter which route you take. 


CHAPTER XX 
The Holy City 

Our slow train, straining and puffing, finally found 
its way up to the great lava plateau; and as we looked, 
behold, there burst upon our vision the Holy City, 
Jerusalem. It is hard to describe one's feeling when 
he catches his first view of Jerusalem. All of his 
childhood dreams seem suddenly to come true and he 
wonders if he is really seeing or dreaming. 

The city is approached from the south, and the 
first glimpse of the walls is of old Mount Zion, known 
now as Davidsburg—that is, it is so known to the 
archaeologist, for there is no city there; but on top of 
the hill is the wall and the Gate of David, usually 
called Zion Gate. However, the gate of real activity, 
on this side, is the Jaffa Gate; so we pass by this and 
find our way to the Allenby Hotel, some distance out¬ 
side of the Jaffa Gate, and are soon settled down for 
business. It is 2:30 P.M., June 3. 

As soon as we were settled some of us were off down 
David Street to the Mosque of Omar and through the 
Church of the Holy Sepulcher. The city of Jerusalem 
was mentioned in the Amarna letters; in fact, one of 
these letters was from the king of Jerusalem (it is 
called Yerusalimi), and this was written fully two 
centuries earlier than the entrance of the children of 
Israel into Palestine. It must have been a very 
small but almost impregnable city when David took 
it from the Jebusites. • The old city lay on the slopes 
(224) 



JAFFA GATE, JERUSALEM. 

The modern clock tower, and just over the heads of the peo¬ 
ple is the ancient Tower of David. 



VIEW FROM THE TOP OF THE TOWER OF THE GERMAN 
HOSPICE ON MOUNT OLIVE. 

The Russian tower in the foreground, the Dead Sea to the 
left, Jerusalem to the right, and Bethlehem straight ahead. 


















































































































The Holy City 225 

of old Mount Zion, now called the western hill, and 
partly outside the present city limits. It has been 
partially excavated by Bliss and Macalister, who 
discovered ancient Jebusite walls and an altar, while 
below lies the Pool of Siloam, connected with the 
Spring of Gihon, or Fountain of the Virgin, which 
brought fresh water into the city from without during 
a siege. The connection is by means of the famous 
Siloam tunnel, which is five hundred and eighty-three 
yards long, as it runs in its tortuous way. It was a 
secret passage, was probably built in the time of 
Hezekiah, and a description of its building was cut 
on its walls and forms for us the earliest known 
Hebrew inscription. The pool of Siloam is celebrated 
in song and in New Testament reference, and it is 
thought that Isaiah refers to this tunnel when he 
speaks of the “waters of Shiloah that go softly.” 
(Isa. viii. 6.) 

A curious thing about the spring is that it is inter¬ 
mittent. At one time of year it flows from three to 
five times a day—that is, in the rainy season of the 
springtime—while in summer it flows twice daily, 
and in the autumn it flows but once a day. The 
phenomenon is accounted for by the theory that 
there is a natural basin far up under the rock which 
fills with water to a height where it touches a siphon 
exit, then it flows dry and stops until the basin once 
more fills up to the outlet. The Pool of Siloam is 
down very near the bottom of the Kidron and just 
across from the village of Siloah, which, curiously 
enough, has always been noted for its thieves. It 
lies on the slopes of the Hill of Offense, where Solomon 
15 


226 Dust and Ashes of Empires 

is supposed to have offered sacrifices to strange gods 
in honor of his foreign wives. 

The city of Jerusalem lies on three hills, which are 
divided from each other by the Tyropceon Valley. 
The North Hill is 2,525 feet above sea level, that of the 
Temple Hill 2,440 feet, and that of the West Hill is 
2,550 feet. The present city wall, which undoubtedly 
contains many remains of very ancient walls, dates 
mostly from Crusader and Arabic times and has an 
average height above the ground of 3 Sy 2 feet, but 
sometimes exhibits the peculiarity of having been 
built one wall on top of another until that part of the 
wall below the surface is as much as seventy feet, 
while some authorities claim even a greater depth. 
They are very irregular, are something like two and 
one-half miles in circumference, and inclose about 
nine hundred acres of land. There are eight gates, 
the main ones being the Jaffa Gate on the southwest 
and the Damascus Gate on the north. St. Stephens 
Gate is in the east wall, immediately north of the 
Temple area, and is also much used, while the Zion 
Gate is on the highest point of the West Hill. The 
Golden Gate, in the east wall and almost in the center 
of the Temple area, has been closed for centuries on 
account of a prophecy that the conqueror of Jerusalem 
will enter by that gate. The Dung Gate is where the 
wall crosses the Tyropceon Valley, just between 
Mount Moriah and Old Mount Zion. 

The walls were complete around the city until the 
visit of the German Kaiser, when the wall between 
the Jaffa Gate and the Tower of David was cut, so 
that the Kaiser could enter in state; for the Gates of 
Jerusalem are no more than doors, and some of them 


227 


The Holy City 

turn after entering the wall, so that no vehicle could 
be driven through—indeed, one would have little use 
for a vehicle after entering, for most of the streets are 
too steep and rough for even the use of a horse. 
Many of the streets are stone steps leading from one 
level to another and many of them have buildings 
built over them, so you have the feeling that you are 
going through a subway. Most of the streets are 
horribly filthy, and some of the little niches in the 
wall where Jews live are unbelievable. Just inside 
the Jaffa Gate there is a wide space, with the Tower 
of David on one side and some quite modern stores 
and a very good hotel, called “The Grand New,” on 
the other side. The American Colony Store, con¬ 
ducted by a community of foreign Christians, most of 
whom were at first Americans and are supposed to 
have all things in common, is here. From this open¬ 
ing David Street leads down, down to lower levels, 
both geographically and ethically. Also just off 
from this wide place, and now surrounded by build¬ 
ings, is the ancient Pool of Hezekiah; while on the 
other side of the city, not far from St. Stephens Gate 
and north of the convent of St. Anne's, is the Pool of 
Bethesda, which was said to have its waters troubled 
once a year and where Jesus healed the impotent 
man (John v. 2 f.). 

The Via Dolorosa contains fourteen stations of the 
Cross, none of which are certainly authentic. Along 
this way you are shown the house of Lazarus the poor 
man, and of Dives the rich man; but the level of 
Jerusalem at that time must have been much below 
what it is now, and so these places could only be 
approximately correct. One thing is certain: Jesus 


228 Dust and Ashes of Empires 

carried his cross through the streets of the city and 
came somewhere along this way to meet Simon the 
Cyrenian, who bore the cross for him. So that one 
feels, in spite of his doubts about places, something of 
solemnity and reverence as he marches along this 
way, held sacred by so many as the very pathway 
trodden by the feet of the Blessed Son of God on his 
way to pay the supreme sacrifice for our souls. 

One of the very interesting places is the Church of 
the Holy Sepulcher, located almost in the center 
of the present city, and therefore hard to believe 
authentic, though most scholars examining the 
ground are inclined to accept it as such. The place 
where Jesus was crucified was outside the city walls, 
and this church stands directly west of the Temple 
area; but the ancient walls have been discovered 
turning through the Tyropceon Valley between the 
Temple site and the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. 
One is, however, quite disgusted at the claims for the 
spot and the low form of Christianity exhibited 
within the church itself. The Arabs call it the 
Church of the Resurrection. It has a conspicuous 
dome surmounted by a gilded cross, and the building 
itself has been added to by so many different cults 
and at so many different times that it is a con¬ 
glomerate mass of different styles of architecture, 
while within have been gathered the traditions of 
nearly everything in the Bible, from the bush in 
which the ram was caught and substituted for Isaac 
when Abraham would have sacrificed him, to the 
grave of Adam. 

The identification of this spot as the tomb of 
Christ goes back to the days of Constantine, about 


229 


The Holy City 

325 A.D.; and the earliest historian of the Chris¬ 
tian Church, Bishop Eusebius, who wrote between 
314 and 340 A.D., says that the tomb of Christ had 
been found, "contrary to all expectation/' Another 
tradition says that Helena, the mother of Constan¬ 
tine, who died in 326 A.D., undertook a pilgrimage 
to Jerusalem and through a dream or vision found 
the Cross of Christ, and as early as 336 A.D. two 
churches were erected here, one over what was sup¬ 
posed to be the tomb of Christ and the other dedi¬ 
cated to the Sign of the Cross. The very fact that it 
is said to have been discovered by miracle indicates 
that it had been lost; and yet this identification goes 
back to a very early date, not so far removed from 
the time of the events themselves. It would seem 
that some Christians would have kept watch on the 
tomb even during the days of destruction and that 
they would have been able to identify the place. 

The church is entered from the street of the Chris¬ 
tians, where you first come into a large quadrangle, 
which itself dates back to the Crusades and is partly 
surrounded by columns of the same period. Near 
the door of the church proper is the grave of an 
English Crusader, Philip d'Aubigny, who was buried 
here in 1236 A.D. There are two old portals, one of 
them closed, both of them exhibiting frescoes of a 
different period, and one of them very fine, supposed 
to have been executed in France in the second half 
of the twelfth century. It exhibits Bible scenes, 
particularly of the life of Jesus. The other portal is 
decorated with pagan scenes. If you turn to your 
right instead of entering the church, you will face 
the Monastery of Abraham (where there is an olive 


230 Dust and Ashes of Empires 

tree said to be growing where Abraham found the 
ram when he was about to sacrifice Isaac), also the 
Church of the Apostles and the altar of Melchizedek, 
then the Church of Abraham, on the spot where he 
was on the point of sacrificing Isaac. Then we have 
the Arminian Chapel of St. James, the Coptic Chapel 
of the Archangel Michael, an Abyssinian Chapel, a 
Chapel of St. Mary of Egypt, and the Chapel of the 
Agony of the Virgin. On the other side under the 
Bell Tower are the chapels of St. James the Brother 
of Our Lord, of Mary Magdalene, and of the Forty 
Martyrs. 

The Bell Tower dates back to the last half of the 
twelfth century, and was originally a campanile, 
standing away from the church. As you enter the 
front portal of the church itself, there lies in front 
of you the Stone of Unction, on which it is claimed 
the body of Jesus was anointed by Nicodemus and 
is more venerated than the tomb itself by certain 
classes of pilgrims. The stone has often been moved, 
but has been in its present place since 1808. Thirty- 
three feet away is the marked spot where the women 
stood to witness the anointing. 

All of the churches were combined into one build¬ 
ing by the Crusaders, and one monarch after another 
has adorned the edifice until it contains a king’s 
ransom in offerings. There is a tremendous rotunda 
in the center of which is the little Chapel of the Holy 
Sepulcher, elaborately decorated. It is twenty-six 
feet long, seventeen and a half feet wide, and is ap¬ 
proached through the Chapel of the Angels. The 
present chapel is built of marble and dates back to 
1810. The angels’ chapel in front is a very small 


231 


The Holy City 

affair, ten by eleven feet, in the center of which is a 
stone called the angels' stone and is said to be that 
which the angels rolled from the door of the sepul¬ 
cher. The inside chapel is six by six and a half feet, 
and from the ceiling there hang forty-three lamps 
belonging to Copts, Latins, Greeks, and Arminians. 
The rock tomb, covered with a broken marble slab, 
is five feet long, two feet wide, and three feet high. 
In 1555 A.D. the church was destroyed by fire, when 
the tomb was uncovered and an inscription said to 
contain the name of Helena and a piece of wood sup¬ 
posed to be a part of the cross were found. On the 
southeast of the rotunda is a stairway leading up to 
the Chapel of Golgotha, which is a higher ledge of 
rock, and three holes are shown where it is said the 
three crosses stood. These holes are much too close 
together. Close beside these holes is a crevice made 
by the rending of the rock at the death of Christ 
and into which the blood of Christ, they tell us, 
flowed and which trickled down into a very small 
rock tomb, which is directly under this crevice. 
They say that after the expulsion from the Garden 
of Eden Adam and Eve came and lived in this coun¬ 
try, that Adam was buried here, and when the blood 
of Jesus ran into his tomb it touched his body and 
he arose from the dead. They do not tell us where 
he went nor what he did. Some say that this crevice 
reaches the center of the earth. Some little distance 
from this chapel is a ball which is said to be the exact 
center of the world; and I have no doubt that this 
is correct, since every spot is that center and the 
horizons are equally distant from the spot where 
you stand, no matter where that spot is. On Good 


232 Dust and Ashes of Empires 

Friday a ceremony of a peculiar sort is practiced by 
the Greeks, and has been for a very long time. The 
crowd of pilgrims spend the night in the church in 
an attempt to get place, and at a given time all 
lights are extinguished in the presence of the crowd 
and the priests approach the door, some praying and 
some entering; after a while fire proceeds from a 
small window of the sepulcher and there is a wild 
scramble to light the torches from it, and then the 
pilgrims carry these torches all the way back to their 
homes, many of them in Russia and other foreign 
parts. This is a very ancient ceremony. The fire, 
it is said, will not burn the human flesh. 

Somewhere under the roof of this remarkable 
church there is a chapel to everything connected 
with the life of our Lord. 

Of all places about Jerusalem, perhaps the one of 
most interest to the greatest number of people is the 
Haram esh Sherif. Its name signifies “the chief 
place,” and within its inclosure once stood the incom¬ 
parable Temple of King Solomon, surrounded by 
the mighty palaces and the Millo. Here, also, at an 
earlier date was the Canaanitish high place and later 
the scene of the attempted sacrifice of Isaac by 
Abraham. The real name of the hill was “Moriah,” 
but the name “Zion,” which first attached to the 
West Hill, became so sacred in song and story and 
so vitally connected with the sacred city itself that 
it was passed over to the Temple Hill until it is now 
more often referred to as Zion than as Moriah. The 
place is large, covering several acres, and is inclosed 
by walls and entered by seven gates. On the inside 
there is a complete pavement covering the space; 











































































































































































































































































































ANCIENT WALL OF JERUSALEM. 

This wall is on the north side of the old Temple area, 
has been excavated to a depth of about seventy feet, and 
shows the remains of an arch. 



A STREET IN JERUSALEM. 











233 


The Holy City 

and there are two levels, the second being entered 
by way of open arches. Here and there are cisterns, 
from which people are constantly drawing water, 
and great old cypress trees flourish within the area. 
On one side of the space is the Mosque of Aksa, 
which is the probable site of Solomon’s palace. After 
the destruction of these buildings a Basilica to the 
Virgin Mary was built here by Justin, in the form of 
a cross. It was later turned into a mosque, by cut¬ 
ting away enough to destroy the form of the cross, 
and was then made magnificent and glorious. It 
was destroyed by an earthquake in the eighth cen¬ 
tury and was never completely restored to its former 
glory, but is still very beautiful and interesting. 

The Golden Gate is in the east wall of the Haram 
esh Sherif, and near it on the wall are some broken 
columns projecting through the wall which are 
probably older than the wall. To both Jew and 
Mohammedan the Valley of Kidroti or Jehoshaphat 
is the place of final judgment; and to the Moslem 
this place of the protruding columns is where Jesus 
will stand on that great day and Mohammed on the 
Mount of Olives. A slender wire will be drawn from 
this point on the wall to the place on the Mount over 
which every one will be compelled to pass—and those 
who do not succeed will fall into hell, a place which 
lies just under the Temple area, and whose gates are 
directly under the dome of the rock in the Mosque 
of the Dome of the Rock. From this wall one gets a fine 
view of the Kidron Valley and the Mount of Olives. 
Under the Temple area there are many subterranean 
chambers, among them the Cotton Grotto, from 
which it is probable King Solomon secured building 


234 Dust and Ashes of Empires 

stone for the Temple. The stone is almost pure 
white, is so soft that it can easily be whittled with a 
knife, and looks much like the white rock of Northern 
Texas. When exposed to the atmosphere this rock 
begins to harden and continues each year to get 
harder until it is well-nigh imperishable. A large 
clock tower near the Jaffa Gate is built of it. On 
the other side, and nearly under the Mosque of 
Aksa, are the vaults known as “Solomon’s Stables,” 
which probably formed the retaining wall for the 
extensions made by Herod to the palaces on that 
side of the group. These chambers, which were used 
by the Crusaders for stables, have given rise to all 
sorts of traditions, the most seductive of which is 
that here are the archives where the furniture of the 
Temple was hidden before the city was surrendered 
to Nebuchadnezzar and some expect to find here the 
original golden candlesticks and the Ark of the 
Covenant. Some fools are even looking for the body 
of Jesus, which the Roman soldiers hid away (?). 
There are many secret passages under this area, but 
it is highly improbable that anything remains of the 
ancient treasures carried away, not only by the 
Babylonian king, but by kings of everywhere. The 
city is said to have been completely destroyed 
thirty-nine times and pillaged many more. 

When we first visited the sacred Temple site, it was 
Ramadan, the most holy of all Mohammedan feasts 
and corresponding roughly to Pentecost. But we 
were still able to secure admission at certain times of 
the day and were guided by a distinguished sheik, 
who conducted us through the mosque with great 
ceremony. One is not required, as formerly, to re- 


235 


The Holy City 

move his shoes, but is given an extra pair which are 
tied on over the polluted ones which he wears; for 
the earth is unholy and no shoes that have touched 
it are permitted to touch the rich rugs of the holy 
place. The mosque is of marvelous beauty and rich¬ 
ness and is octagonal in shape, each side being sixty- 
six feet and seven inches in length, the lower part 
being covered with marble slabs, while the upper 
part is incrusted with blue porcelain tiles. There 
are four gates, each facing the cardinal points of the 
compass, which admit to the mosque itself, and 
when one is fairly inside he is bewildered with the 
splendor of it all. The floors are covered with the 
richest rugs which the East can afford, while the 
walls, clear to the vaulted roof, are incrusted with 
gold and with porcelain tiles of the finest blue; the 
subdued light from the indescribably beautiful win¬ 
dows sheds a mellow radiance over blending colors, 
giving the impression that some fanciful Arabian 
Nights dream has suddenly come true. But over 
and above all of these fancies is the solemn con¬ 
sciousness that we are standing on the very ground 
upon which the great King Solomon stood when he 
dedicated this place to Jehovah, Lord of Hosts, and 
there surge round us the fancies of white-robed 
Levites and gaudily-decked priests ministering at 
the altars of the Most High, and the swinging cen¬ 
sers preceding the high priests, entering the holy of 
holies, to meet God face to face. And then one 
hears the voice of Jesus, as with imperial authority 
he cleanses the house of his Father, which he loved 
so well, but which awoke in him the utmost despair 
with reference to its perpetuity. In the center of 


236 Dust and Ashes of Empires 

the great room is a huge platform of natural rock 
surrounded by a high fence. The rock is fifty-eight 
by forty-four feet, rises above the surrounding pave¬ 
ment to a height of from four to six and a half feet, 
and is seamed with shallow trenches which in times 
past conducted the blood of sacrificial victims from 
the place of slaughter. This was the ancient Canaan- 
itish high place, the threshing floor of Oman, the 
high altar of Solomon's Temple, and a sacred spot 
from time immemorial. On this rock it is said both 
Abraham and Melchizedek offered sacrifices, here 
Abraham would have offered up Isaac, and Jacob 
anointed it. The Moslems say it is the center of the 
world and the resting place of the sacred Ark. Under 
it is the door to hell, while another tradition says it 
has under it the well that leads down to Paradise and 
that on this rock the last judgment will take place, 
after which the throne of God will be placed upon 
it. Under the rock is a grotto which was probably 
used at one time for a cistern for ablutions in the 
sacrifices, but there are many traditions concerning 
it. In this grotto we saw a large round depression 
overhead, which was explained to us as the place 
where Mohammed bumped his head. A ledge is 
said to be the seat of Abraham, and much other fool¬ 
ishness is presented to you—for a consideration. 

The Mosque of the Dome of the Rock, erroneously 
called the Mosque of Omar, is said to have been 
built by the Caliph Abd el Melik in 691 A.D. There 
are said to be in this building eleven hundred stones 
which were used in the Temple of Solomon. No Jew 
ever enters the area, for he fears that he might tread 
on the holy of holies. In front of the Temple itself 



































































































































































































































































































































GOLGOTHA; OR, GORDON’S CALVARY. 
On the north side of the city. 



THE VIA DOLOROSA. 

Along- this way, it is said, Jesus bore his cross on the way 
to Calvary. 





237 


The Holy City 

there stood a place of burnt offerings, but this was 
taken later for a statue of Hadrian, which in turn 
was displaced by some Christian symbol erected by 
Justinian, and is now occupied by a small mosque¬ 
like affair, called the Dome of the Chain, or David's 
piace of judgment, and Solomon is said to have died 
sitting on his throne at this spot. While we were 
going through the Mosque of the Dome of the Rock, 
I noticed a commotion ahead and the old guide was 
rather excited; finally one of our party located the 
trouble: I had lost one of the huge shoes which had 
been tied on me and was walking the sacred precincts 
with unhallowed feet! But things were soon adjusted 
and we were allowed to proceed. Some years ago 
two intrepid Englishmen actually excavated under 
the Rock, performing the daring feat by the use of 
baksheesh, but found nothing. 

On the north side of the Haram esh Sherif is a 
very old wall, and a moat probably seventy-five feet 
deep has been excavated, showing this to have been 
the north wall of the city in ancient times. On this 
wall are the remains of ancient arches, while from 
the bottom of it runs an old aqueduct along the 
Tyropceon Valley. 

On the outside of the city of Jerusalem there are 
many things of interest. On the north side, where 
the wall rises up over the cliff, there is a correspond¬ 
ing cliff three or four hundred feet away which was 
undoubtedly a part of this ledge at some time and 
which seems to have been cut through by quarrying. 
The cliff thus left outside the city is the site claimed 
by many modem scholars as the real Calvary. It 
has been established that here was the ancient Jewish 


238 Dust and Ashes of Empires 

place of execution. On the face of the cliff there are 
three holes—one low down and looking like a huge 
human mouth; the other two high up on the face of 
the rock and looking somewhat like eyes, although 
one is larger than the other. Looking at this from a 
distance, it has the appearance of a skull. Just to 
the left as you look north is a small garden, seem¬ 
ingly carved out of the stone ledge, with the rock 
wall on the north side of it. In this wall there is a 
small door, which you enter, step down, and to your 
right is a tomb chamber, with three places for burial, 
only one of which has been used. Near this is 
another tomb in which a Greek was buried and who 
had carved on his tomb, something like this: Brought 
from afar that he might be buried near his Lord . (Not 
exact quotation.) This is Gordon's Calvary and 
looks quite as feasible as the other site within the 
city walls. 

Quite outside the city and some distance to the 
northwest are the tombs of the Judges, an elaborate 
system of tomb chambers going down three stories 
into the solid rock, but with only one door. Dr. 
J. P. Peters, of the University of the South, and the 
author climbed down through these and counted sixty- 
eight burial places. A very strange thing which we ob¬ 
served was the peculiar lock on the door. A crooked 
groove on the inside, evidently made to hold a rolling 
piece of metal, securely locked the door on the inside 
and there was no other exit. Now dead people do 
not lock themselves in and living people are not apt 
to stay inside and work the lock. Either the tomb 
was used as a place of safety during periods of perse¬ 
cution, or there was some secret exit which has not 











*' 

























THE GARDEN OF GBTHSEMANE. 

Directly across the Kidron Valley from the Golden Gate. 









239 


The Holy City 

yet been found—and indeed there are plenty of tra¬ 
ditions of secret passageways which led all the way 
to Galilee. The city of Jerusalem has many passages 
which are said even now to be unknown to the 
Moslems and kept secret by the Jews. 

Still nearer the city is the Tomb of the Kings. Of 
course, these places have been arbitrarily named and 
nobody knows who was buried in them. The King's 
Tomb is a very elaborate affair and must have be¬ 
longed to great people; moreover the great kings of 
Israel must have been buried in great tombs in the 
vicinity. All tombs are hewn in the stone and never 
built. In these tombs there is a door, in front of the 
door a trench, and in this a stone which is square at 
the bottom and round on the top; then another 
trench runs at right angles with this one, in which a 
man could make his way to a point behind the stone 
which covered the door and facilitate the rolling of 
the stone over the door. The task then would be all 
the greater to roll it away, for there would be no 
way to get in front of it to roll it back. 

The Valley of Kidron and Jehoshaphat form a 
veritable cemetery, with thousands of Jewish graves; 
for since the judgment is to occur here, every Jew 
desires to be the first man up and on the spot. The 
tomb of Absalom is a great monument hewn out of 
the’ solid rock and fashioned into a sort of building. 
Another one is the tomb of Zacharias, which Chris¬ 
tians say is that of the father of John Baptist, while 
Jews claim it to be the tomb of the earlier prophet 
of that name. The tomb of James is hewn out of the 
side of the cliff and is more like a cave, while across 
its top is one of the earliest of Hebrew inscriptions. 


240 Dust and Ashes of Empires 

It is not claimed as the actual tomb of St. James, 
but tradition tells us that it was here that James hid 
during the forty days between the Resurrection and 
the Ascension. Between this and St. Stephens Gate 
is the more elaborate tomb of Stephen, while deeper 
down in the valley is an underground chapel which 
is shown as the tomb of Mary the Mother of Jesus 
and of Joseph and of the parents of the Virgin. Not 
far from this and on up the slopes of Olivet is the 
wonderfully beautiful Gethsemane. It is almost 
directly opposite the Golden Gate, and from the in¬ 
timations in the New Testament it must be at least 
very nearly the spot where Jesus went on that last 
night of agony. The word “ Gethsemane ’ 9 signifies 
oil press. The present size of the garden, which is 
an irregular square, is about seventy yards in 
diameter. The garden is now in charge of the 
Franciscans. There are a number of ancient olive 
trees, some of them so ancient that they must be 
supported by masonry and carefully kept standing, 
until they give the appearance of being just as old 
as olive trees live—and they are known to live for 
more than two thousand years. It is therefore 
reasonable to believe that they were standing when 
Jesus was there, and it may have been by the roots 
of one of these old trees that the Man of Sorrows 
knelt and agonized for the salvation of a dying 
world. The Mount of Olives was once thickly cov¬ 
ered with olive trees and there are a few growing 
there now; but of that mighty forest of the long ago 
these trees in the Garden are the sole survivors, 
veterans of a departed glory, which seem to remain, 
loath to leave so sacred a spot, silent messengers of 


241 


The Holy City 

that lonely struggle on that last dark night when 
He bore the sins of the whole world upon his great 
heart. All about the circumference of the garden 
there are stations, amounting to shrines, traditional 
spots of interest, such as the spot where the disciples 
slept, where Judas betrayed him with a kiss, and 
other things. The garden is splendidly kept and 
flowers bloom in profusion, while in the center is a 
well, perhaps old, but the curbing of which was 
erected by an American the year the author was 
born, which made it easy for him to remember the 
date. The monks were always kind. They al¬ 
lowed me to take photographs, presented me with 
olive leaves from the old trees, and I found it easy 
to go back again and linger in this spot of blessed 
memories, where, as in perhaps no other place in his 
life, Jesus became the brother of men by entering 
into the fellowship of their suffering. 

Mount Olivet lies along the eastern side of Jerusa¬ 
lem and consists of four peaks, though two of them 
are not strictly parts of the mountain range. The 
most northerly peak is that of Mount Scopus, over 
which most of the conquerors of the city have come 
and on which Titus camped during his siege of the 
city in 70 A.D. The hill farthest south is the Hill of 
Offense, where Solomon is said to have erected altars 
to the gods of his heathen wives, but between the 
Hill of Offense and Olivet proper is a deep valley 
which entirely separates the two. The two main 
peaks then remain almost due east of the city. On 
the south peak is the Russian Hospice, with its 
church and convent, which is built on the site of an 
older monastery built here in the early Christian 
16 


242 Dust and Ashes of Empires 

centuries by the Arminians, and many relics of the 
older building are preserved in this one. Near by is 
the Chapel of the Ascension, and the tradition that 
the ascension took place here dates back to the very 
beginning of the fourth century, when in 315 Con¬ 
stantine erected a dome over the spot, and there are 
many other places located here around which cluster 
traditions of the doings of Jesus and of early proph¬ 
ets. Here is the Church of the Creed, where Jesus 
is said to have initiated his disciples into the mys¬ 
teries of his doctrines—a tradition which dates back 
to Eusebius. To the east of the Church of the Creed 
is the Church of the Lord's Prayer, which is said to 
be on the site where the Lord taught his disciples the 
Prayer, and in consequence Peter the Hermit 
preached a sermon on the spot. On one of the walls 
the Prayer is inscribed in thirty-two different lan¬ 
guages. Leading to the top of the tower of the 
Russian building there is a circular stairway con¬ 
taining two hundred and fourteen steps. In front of 
the church there is a stone which is said to be the 
very spot where Jesus stood when he was received 
up into heaven. Of course it is not probable that 
this was the scene of the Ascension, but rather in 
Galilee. 

On the slopes of Mount Olivet and near the Garden 
of Gethsemane stands the Russian Church of St. 
Mary Magdalene, which has seven gilded domes and 
contains many fine paintings. 

One of the most interesting buildings on Mount 
Olivet is the German Hospice, which is an immense 
building of splendid architecture and wonderful 
furniture. It was completed in 1910 and contains 


243 


The Holy City 

statues of the Kaiser and the Kaiserin. The building 
is now used as a British military headquarters and 
is called 0. E. T. A. South. The chapel of the 
building is exquisitely adorned with the finest sculp¬ 
ture, paintings, and mosaics; especially fine is the 
mural decoration. There are figures of Apostles, 
Prophets, and Saints; the ceiling is decorated with 
paintings of Prophets, Apostles, Angels, and the 
Kaiser. The cost of this structure must have been 
millions, and it is said that the Kaiser expected to 
come to Jerusalem from this vantage point as the 
Messiah. He had erected a great church called the 
Church of the Redeemer, within a few paces of the 
Church of the Holy Sepulcher, and it was dedicated 
by the Emperor himself. The author had the privi¬ 
lege of speaking in it at the invitation of a Scotch 
Presbyterian minister. Such are the fortunes of war. 
No one can be around Jerusalem long and not be 
convinced that the Kaiser intended to rule the world, 
with Jerusalem as his world capital, and that he 
actually conceived himself as being a supernatural 
agent of God or Messiah; and his kingdom would 
have been a kind of Holy German Empire, if you can 
conceive of such a paradox of terms—and yet it 
would perhaps be no more paradoxical than the 
Holy Roman Empire. The tower of this chapel in the 
German Hospice, known as the Church of the As¬ 
cension, is 197 feet high and affords one of the 
most entrancing views in the world. I think the 
three greatest views to be obtained in this world 
are: from the Hills of the Kings’ Tombs, (at Thebes, 
Egypt), the view from Mount Ebal, and this view 
from the tower of the German building on Mount 


244 Dust and Ashes of Empires 

Olivet. I was able to take a number of photographs 
from this elevated spot. The Holy City lies at your 
feet to the west, across the Valley of the Kidron, 
deep down in which are the tombs of the ancients, 
and up whose western slopes is the Golden Gate of 
the Temple, while beyond is the Temple area, with 
the wonderful Dome of the Rock, the Church of the 
Holy Sepulcher, the Via Dolorosa, the Tower of 
David, Zion Gate; and beyond the modern city, 
the Valley of Jehoshaphat, Gethsemane, the Russian 
Church and Tower; while still beyond are the Hill of 
Offense, the Hill of Evil Counsel, Frank Mountain, 
Bethany, and Bethlehem. To the north are Mizpah, 
Ramah, Bethel, and Gibeah of Saul. A most won¬ 
derful view is to be had from the eastward. Fifteen 
miles away is the Dead Sea, at the top of which the 
Jordan empties its waters, fresh and sweet, into the 
dead saltness of the sea which has no outlet. Jericho 
lies a few miles back, west of the river and north of 
the sea, while the eye can trace the river valley for 
many miles northward up its course, and far to the 
south is the desert of Engedi, west of which is the 
region of Hebron, and west of that are the Wilder¬ 
ness of Judah and the home of Amos. Beyond the 
Dead Sea are the rugged mountains of Moab, amid 
which stands Mount Nebo, on whose top Moses 
stood and viewed, as well he could from that point, 
the whole land of Palestine, and died there. “And 
no man knoweth of his sepulcher unto this day.” 
North of Moab are the Hills of Gilead and to the 
northwest is Galilee. 

As you stand on Mount Olivet looking toward 
Jericho and the Dead Sea, you do not look out 


245 


The Holy City 

straight east, but rather you look down into a gorge, 
and the mouth of the Jordan does not seem more 
than a mile or two away. Jerusalem is twenty-five 
hundred feet above the level of the Mediterranean 
Sea and the surface of the Dead Sea is thirteen hun¬ 
dred feet below the level of the Mediterranean, while 
its bottom is twenty-six hundred feet below the level 
of the sea. From Jerusalem to Jericho is a descent 
on the perpendicular of thirty-eight hundred feet, 
and it is still more from the heights of Olivet, which 
is two hundred feet higher than the city. Jerusalem 
has heavy snows, but the vicinity of Jericho pro¬ 
duces bananas. The rugged road from Jerusalem 
to Jericho now, as ever, is a roost for robbers. While 
I was in the city, a party of natives from Moab who 
had sold their wheat at the Damascus gate were cut 
off and robbed of their money, their beasts, and even 
their clothing, at the Inn of the Good Samaritan . One 
of the places I most desired to visit was Jericho and 
the Jordan Valley, and I had asked the British 
Prefect of Police for the Jerusalem province to let 
me make the trip. He at first refused; but after 
bothering him for some time, he told me to take my 
pistol and hang on to a military lorry, take my own 
risks, and not hold the British Government respon¬ 
sible for what happened to me. I got myself ready 
and went down to make arrangements with the 
captain who was going next day. The lorry went 
down regularly to supply the British garrison at the 
fords of the Jordan; but when I found them, they 
were just returning with fourteen wounded soldiers 
and one dead, all of whom had been "potted” from 
the rocks that day—and not an Arab had been seen. 


246 Dust and Ashes of Empires 

I then decided that I had seen Jericho anyhow, and 
it would not look much different down there from 
what it looked from the hills above, where I had stood 
and seen it. All the land was in a state of war. At 
the close of the feast of Ramadan placards were put 
up everywhere over the city of Jerusalem, in Arabic, 
saying, “The Peace Conference has decided to make 
Palestine a National Home for the Jews. Let us 
make it their National Cemetery. An army of your 
brethren await you at the Jordan.” Machine gun 
corps patrolled the streets during our stay, and each 
street was commanded by a stationary machine gun. 
On Easter before we arrived, in June, a picture of 
King Feisal had been exhibited; and because the 
Jews would not salute it, one hundred and thirty 
were killed. 

The Jews of Jerusalem are a miserable lot. They 
are extremely anemic, and have reason to be, for 
few of them have ever enjoyed so much as a square 
meal in their lives. During the war many of them 
starved to death. There is in the city a segregated 
district, the first one in the history of Jerusalem, 
made up of the wives and daughters of men who 
went to war and never came back. The Jews dress 
in the most astonishing style. On week days they 
wear a long black coat that comes to the ground, 
with a little round fuzzy hat. In front of the ears 
hangs a curl, a lock of hair which has never been cut, 
to obey the mandates of the Mosaic law which seems 
to them to forbid the cutting of the hair. They never 
shave, and often a twenty-year-old boy will have 
long straggling whiskers. On the Sabbath they have 
the same general style of garments, but they are of 


247 


The Holy City 

purple and deep blue. They live in the most con¬ 
gested settlements and are hated by all. They in 
turn hate the Zionists, because the Zionists are not 
religious, while they attempt to keep the law punc¬ 
tiliously. They are the modern representatives of 
the old Pharisees of Jesus's day. Just outside the 
Temple area is their Wailing Wall, perhaps the 
oldest wall in Jerusalem, and which was probably 
standing before the days of David. Here some of 
them come every day, but many of them on the 
Sabbath and particularly at sundown on Friday. 
They kiss the stones, read prayers, sway back and 
forth, and chant the dirge over their city whose 
glory is departed and pray for its restoration. This 
old wall was being touched up a bit while I was there, 
and the Jews made an awful complaint. The Mayor 
of the city ordered an investigation and found that 
the contract for the work had been let to a Jew, one 
of their own number. I took a picture of these 
wailers from a secret window near by, and after hav¬ 
ing secured one I made bold to walk down and take 
a direct shot at them. When I did so, one old fellow 
came to ask me if I was a Zionist, and was perfectly 
satisfied to allow me to do as I pleased when he 
learned that I did not belong to that hated group. 
The Zionist movement is, I think, doomed to failure, 
for many reasons—that is to say, failure in the sense 
of Palestine ever being entirely settled by them. 
They are doing good work in a hospital in Jerusalem, 
where some of the best Jewish doctors from America 
have established a very fine clinic. They also con¬ 
template the spending of twenty-five millions of 
American dollars in an enterprise in the city, most 


248 Dust and Ashes of Empires 

of which is to go into a university which will proba¬ 
bly be patronized mainly from America and Europe. 
A proposition has also been suggested, to raise five 
hundred million dollars and buy the Temple area 
and rebuild the Temple. Also, some American- 
trained agriculturists are surveying the land with a 
view to increasing crop production and reforestation 
of the land. But there are in Palestine eighty thou¬ 
sand Jews, twenty thousand Christians and other 
non-Moslems, and six hundred thousand Moslems. 
The slogan is, from both foreigner and native, “ You 
cannot nationalize one people by denationalizing 
another/' and the opposition to Zionism is wide¬ 
spread. 


CHAPTER XXI 
Round about Jerusalem 

One of the beauty spots about Jerusalem is Ain 
Karim, where John the Baptist is said to have been 
born. I was more than once in sight of this attrac¬ 
tive little place; but once I was invited by the 
American Colony to accompany them out there. 
So, with a two-mule wagon and in company with 
several members of the American colony, and the 
most delightful company of Dr. John P. Peters, the 
distinguished archaeologist from the University of 
the South, and Dr. A. C. Harte, in charge of the 
Y. M. C. A. at Jerusalem, we made the trip, which 
is only a short four miles to the west of Jerusalem 
and lying in the deep valley, surrounded by most 
rugged mountains and exhibiting a most rugged 
beauty. Here is the best example of what can be 
done with the land of Palestine, for this region is in 
a state of as perfect cultivation as is possible under 
the circumstances. Everything is in cultivation. 
The patches up the hillside are sometimes no more 
than five yards square and watered by means of 
woman power. The women carry the water on their 
shoulders up these steep hills and irrigate the little 
patches. Even the bottom of the stream is cultivated 
during the dry season, by means of dam and terrace, 
which must be rebuilt after every rainy season. 

The valley is well covered with olive trees, and 
all in all it is the most prosperous looking spot in 

(249) 


250 Dust and Ashes of Empires 

southern Palestine. As you leave Jerusalem going 
out through the Jaffa Gate, the road leads at once 
to the higher ridge west of the city and there is a 
long stretch of almost level territory which is very 
nearly solid rock and looks to be of volcanic origin. 
It is the most barren and sterile territory (you can¬ 
not say land, for there is no soil there) to be found 
anywhere. The road is lined with remains of the 
campaign of the most recent conquest of Canaan. 
Caves are here and there which were used by the 
British and Turks for emergency hospitals. 

At Ain Karim itself there are some two thousand 
people, several churches, a Latin monastery, and a 
group of Russian buildings with a convent. At the 
bottom of the hill on the lowest place of the village 
is an abundant spring connected in tradition with 
the visit of the Virgin Mary to Elizabeth and is now 
covered by a mosque. On one hillside is a Francis¬ 
can church containing old mosaics and mural paint¬ 
ings and is pointed out as the site of the house of 
Zacharias the father of John Baptist, while another 
Latin church stands on the opposite hill covering 
the traditional site of the summer home of Zacharias 
and the supposed place of the visitation of the Virgin. 
The Russian convent and community presented one 
of the most pitiful pictures of the East. The Church 
is beautiful and the grounds are well cared for, but 
there are ninety nuns here and one hundred and 
twenty of the same order on Mount Olivet who are 
literally starving to death. When we came up the 
hillside the church bell began to ring. I asked if they 
were having church, and a lady replied, “No, they 
have observed the coming of Dr. Harte and they 


Round about Jersuaiem 


251 


hope he has brought them some bread.” But Dr. 
Harte had been unable to secure the bread and had 
only brought tea for them. We then went up to the 
church, where the entire group of old women, few of 
them under sixty, were distributing this tea. They 
have lived on a kind of soup which they make from 
whatever leaves they can gather from the trees about 
them, and in the winter even this supply fails. They 
each have but one garment, and that is the regula¬ 
tion uniform. They have no underclothing and no 
fuel, though the winters are as cold as in the central 
part of America. Their present condition is due to 
the fortunes of war. They had plenty when Russian 
pilgrims were plentiful. Besides they had good en¬ 
dowments in Russia; but all this has been swept 
away, and the only income they have is an allowance 
from the British government of one-half pound 
(about $1.75) per month. Dr. A. C. Harte has done 
a noble work for these women by appealing to the 
British Y. M. C. A. for supplies; but there being no 
provision for such work, all that was done was neces¬ 
sarily temporary and many of them have died of 
starvation and exposure. Harte is to them a saint, 
as indeed he is to all who know him. He started in 
Alabama with a definite call to religious work which 
he at first interpreted as a call to the ministry, but 
finally turned to Y. M. C. A. work, for which he is 
peculiarly fitted. He went overseas many years ago, 
served with great efficency in India, and was of such 
great service in the German camps during the Great 
War that he has many times been decorated and 
honored by the kings and queens of earth with gifts 
and honors, but is still a minister to the poor and 


252 Dust and Ashes of Empires 

will find his greatest honors coming at last at the 
hands of the Great King of Kings. 

Several of our party that day at Ain Karim climbed 
to the highest point above the village and viewed the 
landscape. We could look out to the west far into 
the great blue Mediterranean, while in the valley at 
our feet nestled the attractive village; and looking 
straight north up a long valley we could see the 
majestic Neby Samwil (Mizpah). It was just this 
valley and this mountain that were the undoing of 
the Turks, and the reason for the capture of Jerusa¬ 
lem without besieging the city. Mizpah was not 
fortified by the Turks, but this valley was, at great 
expense, and also a smaller hill, south of Neby 
Samwil. Allenby marched all the way round and 
invested Neby Samwil, which gave him command of 
all of this valley running along the entire western 
boundary of the Jerusalem area; and when this was 
done there was nothing left but for Jerusalem to sur¬ 
render. There was with us on this day a lady who 
saw the battle from Ain Karim and said that with 
field glasses she could see many of the soldiers fall 
under the terrific gunfire. The day spent at this 
beautiful little village will ever remain one of the 
pleasant memories of our stay in the Holy Land. On 
our way home Dr. Peters regaled us with Arabic 
stories until the lights of Jerusalem came into view 
and we were back in the Holy City. 

One day in company with Dr. W. F. Albright, of 
the American School of Oriental Research, I walked 
out to Neby Samwil, some five miles north and 
slightly west of Jerusalem. The way leads over ex¬ 
ceedingly rugged hills and wide valleys, in the midst 


Round about Jerusalem 


253 


of which are sparse wheat fields and threshing floors 
which were in constant use that day, with here and 
there a dry wady, sometimes a lone olive tree, and 
everywhere fragments of shells, showing the remains 
of war. On our way back we traced a Roman road, 
cut around the hillsides and paved, and part of which 
is still in use. What marvelous road builders those 
Romans were! The whole Near-Eastern world ex¬ 
hibits remains of their great art in building roads 
that stay through the centuries. 

Neby Samwil, which is the highest hill in this part 
of Palestine, was the ancient Mizpah, where Samuel 
was thought to have been born, lived, died, and was 
buried. The mosque on the top of the hill is said to 
contain the tomb of Samuel. The place is of great 
antiquity, and one can easily see that such a strategic 
point would always have occupied a prominent place 
in the traditions of the inhabitants, no matter who 
they were. It is probable that this is actually the 
spot where Samuel judged Israel. The mosque, be¬ 
fore the war, had a very fine minaret; but this was 
shot away by the Turks in an endeavor to dislodge 
the British. The mosque itself suffered great dam¬ 
age, but was being repaired when we were there. 
Huge stones which were part of some much older 
buildings lie about, and at one place there are tre¬ 
mendous stones perfectly laid in place, but which 
deceive the eye, for they were laid by nature and are 
a part of the mountain itself; but since they are in 
perfect position they were used as part of a building 
at a very early date. All about on every side there 
are fragments of artillery and the ruins of battle, as 
if the battle had ceased on the day before. Climbing 


254 Dust and Ashes of Empires 

to the top of the mosque, there is much that can be 
seen of Biblical history. Facing the north, Jerusa¬ 
lem lies behind you, while to the east the Jordan 
Valley is out of sight over the hills; but the mountains 
of Moab and Nebo loom up straight across from you 
as if the Jordan Valley and the Dead Sea did not 
exist at all. Near by, and to the east, is the hill of 
Tel el Fuhl, the ancient Gibeah of Saul, perhaps not 
more than two miles from Mizpah. To the north and 
just below you is Gibeah of Benjamin, with quite a 
village on its crest; while some five miles on, and at 
the top of the first ridge, are Ramah and Bethel; 
two or three miles farther north and three or four 
miles to the west is the village of El Kubeibeh, which 
is one of the places claimed as the Emmaus of the 
New Testament. All of these are bewilderingly 
near to each other; and if these spots have actually 
been identified, then it is very hard to see how Saul 
seeking his father's asses could have been lost or 
mourned as lost by his father, since his father could 
have gone out at any time on his housetop and have 
seen his son. The circuit of Samuel was from Miz¬ 
pah to Bethel and Gilgal, and return to Ramah, 
where he had his parsonage. Gilgal has not been 
definitely located. It was probably between here 
and Jericho; but the others are close enough together 
for Samuel to have walked the entire circuit in a 
single day and spent ample time at each. 

One day I engaged a Ford car to take me to 
Nabulus; and as the car did not arrive at the ap¬ 
pointed hour, I went to see about it and found it 
down by the Jaffa Gate. The driver informed me 
that they were ready, so I got in and waited until 


Round about Jerusalem 


255 


waiting became a burden, and when I insisted on 
his going he started and after a ride of a mile he 
stopped to get gas and then came back to the city. 
I tried to leave the car and find some other way, but 
he prevailed on my remaining, as he intended going 
right on and so started out in another direction, only 
to go another mile and turn around in a circle to 
come back. I then jumped out of the car, over his 
protests got away, went to the railway station, took 
a train for Lud, and changed there for Tulkeram 
with the understanding that a train for Nabulus 
would be awaiting me; but when I left the train and 
watched it go out of sight I turned to the station 
master and asked him where the train for Nabulus 
would be and he kindly showed me. I then asked 
him when it would leave, and he answered, ^ To¬ 
morrow.’' I then attempted to find a place to spend 
the night, but that was impossible—or so I thought 
after wandering for some time over the miserable 
native village. But finally I found an English 
major who was in charge of an engineering corps and 
he assigned me a bare room, as is ever the case in 
the East. This was the first trip I had ever made that 
I did not carry my blankets, and for that matter my 
bed as well; but at last I found a Red Cross stretcher 
with hospital blanket and spent the night very com¬ 
fortably. The next morning my train was ready 
within two hours of the schedule (that is as near as 
you can expect in that country), and I was on my 
way, sharing my seat with a native Christian, who 
spent most of the time trying to sell me something. 
He had a Turkish decoration, of which there are 
many on sale; and after we had failed to trade on it, 


256 1Dust and Ashes of Empires 

he said, “ I make you a present of it, for your family's 
sake." I said, “All right, thank you." But he did 
not deliver, and sadly said, “You might at least give 
me what it cost me." That is ever the way of the 
Easterner: he is much interested in you for the sake 
of what you can do for him. 

After a tedious journey, through melon fields and 
rocks and winding valleys, we reached Nabulus about 
noon and found a native hotel, which was bad, but 
I had seen worse. I was traveling absolutely alone; 
the only other white men in the city were British 
officers, and they were few enough. That first after¬ 
noon I climbed Ebal and looked over the whole of 
Palestine: From Mount Hermon to the Judean Hills, 
and from Carmel to Gilead, the hills of Galilee, the 
plain of Esdraelon, the Gilboa range, the Jordan 
valley, the Sea of Galilee, and the Mediterranean. 
Mount Gerizim lies immediately by the side of Ebal, 
though not so high. Gerizim is 2,848 feet above sea 
level, while Ebal rises to the height of 3,077 feet. 
On Gerizim was the ancient High Place, but there 
were also sacred altars on Ebal. Gerizim, however, 
became the rival of Mount Moriah in the days of the 
Divided Kingdom. Five miles to the northwest, and 
almost at the foot of Ebal, lies the low mound on 
which are the ruins of Samaria, the second capital of 
Northern Israel. This was partially excavated in 
1907 by the Harvard Expedition, which found most 
interesting remains of that glorious city. In between 
the two mountains, and running up the sides of both 
of them, is the attractive city of Nabulus (Neapolis, 
or ancient Shechem), one of the oldest cities of 
Palestine and closely identified with the early history 


Round about Jerusalem 


257 


of the Hebrews. When Abraham left Haran he came 
to Shechem and builded an altar there; and when 
Jacob came back from Haran, or Padan-Aram, he 
came to Shechem and bought a parcel of land from 
the men of Shechem. The word “Shechem” means 
“neck” or “ridge,” and the city is on the ridge that 
divides the two mountains. There are about twenty- 
seven thousand people in the modern city, and there 
are several near-by villages which are quite closely 
connected. There are many green gardens and the 
houses are generally better than those found in other 
cities. I started out one day to find the Samaritans; 
and after passing through the low shut-in streets 
which resemble subways and remind one of Jerusa¬ 
lem, I came out in some luxuriant gardens and was 
walking down a path leading out of the city when I 
met an Arab and asked him the way to the Samaritan 
Quarters; but before he could answer a bearded 
young man came running and puffing up the path, 
saying, “Yes, yes, I am coming for you. I am the 
one you seek.” I then turned and went with this 
fellow, who proved to be the son of the High Priest, 
who I knew was in Jerusalem. He took me to the 
little synagogue, which is but a whitewashed cham¬ 
ber under other buildings and in the midst of a most 
miserable situation. Here they show you the Penta¬ 
teuch, which they claim to have been copied by a 
grandson of Aaron, but which is probably about two 
thousand years old and is in a case of copper about 
one thousand years old. They have several of these 
manuscripts of varying ages, and during the war were 
forced to sell or rather to pledge them for money on 
which they could keep themselves alive. They are a 
17 


258 Dust and Ashes of Empires, 

miserable lot. There are only one hundred and 
seventy of them left and they will soon be gone. This 
is all that remains of all Northern Israel. I met the 
High Priest in Jerusalem many times. His name is 
Isaac Ben Omram. 

One day I started out to find Jacob's well. I 
passed the excavations of the Tower of Shechem, 
which is in reality the ancient city, and went on to 
where the plain opens out from the pass between the 
mountains and almost a mile from the city of 
Nabulus. At first I failed to find the place and 
thought I would inquire. I saw no man, but many 
women carrying sheaves of wheat from the fields. 
I picked out a very old woman, who indeed looked 
to be eighty, for I knew what bad form it is for a man 
to speak to a woman in that country; but I felt safe 
in speaking to one so old. When I asked her where 
Jacob's well was, she broke and ran like a scared deer. 
But finally I found the place, surrounded by a wall 
and in charge of a Franciscan monk, who drew water 
from the well and offered me a sealed bottle of water 
for sale. I declined both, poured out the water he 
had drawn, drew for myself, and drank. I then 
secured a bottle, filled it for a souvenir, then walked 
out and contemplated the situation. Here is an 
authentic spot, for this well is digged in the solid 
rock seventy-five feet to the water now, and the only 
well in this region. Just up the slopes of Mount 
Ebal is the village that still bears the name of Askar 
or Sychar, and all the plain is known by that same 
name. It is the Plain of Askar and was known as 
the Valley of Death during the past war, for it is 
said that every square yard of it was plowed up by 


Bound about Jerusalem 


259 


shell fire and each square yard contained, at one 
time or another, the dead body of a soldier, British 
or Turk; and indeed the whole country was still filled 
with these gaping shell holes when I stood there, but 
most of the valley had been recovered and sown in 
wheat. While I was there in June, the harvest was 
on and the whole valley seemed to be one waving 
field of golden grain and the women were bearing in 
the yellow sheaves. Near by was the Tomb of 
Joseph, where his bones were buried when they 
brought them up from Egypt at the time of the 
Exodus. Two hundred yards from this tomb are 
the excavations of Shechem, where the German 
excavators had found, just as the war broke out, a 
suit of armor, greaves, helmet, breastplate, shield, 
sword, spear, and mace—all Egyptian and all of pure 
gold. This has never been published to the world, 
but Dr. Salim, a fine gentleman, native Syrian and 
graduate of the American University at Beirut, who 
was with the Germans when they made these finds, 
told me of them. One's imagination runs rife, and 
it would not be hard to imagine that this armor 
(since golden armor is never made for the battle 
field, but for the court) belonged to Joseph, was 
used by him in his office in the voluptuous court of 
the Pharoahs, and was brought along with his bones 
and buried here. It is otherwise hard to account 
for, since it is Egyptian. This place is hoary with 
tradition, and one can see the herdsmen of Abraham 
coming to this first stopping place, and the grand 
old patriarch building an altar and offering sacrifice 
on it in the earliest history of the Hebrews; Jacob 
having trouble here with Simeon and Levi and buying 


260 Dust and Ashes of Empires 

the parcel of land and digging this well; the assembly 
of the people here by Joshua; the reign of Abimelech 
during the days of the Judges; the assembly of 
Rehoboam after the death of Solomon when the king¬ 
dom was divided; the entry of Jeroboam as king of 
Northern Israel; and many other notable events of 
the old days. But none touches us so deeply as the 
incident of the Man of Galilee coming with his dis¬ 
ciples along this road (which is still the highway 
from Jerusalem to Galilee) and—tired, thirsty, and 
hungry—sitting by the wellside to rest and sending 
his disciples to buy bread, while there comes from the 
village of Sychar a woman to draw water and he asks 
of her a drink. She is surprised that he, being a Jew, 
should ask anything of her, being a woman and a 
Samaritan, both alike hated by Jews. He speaks to 
her of the everlasting water of life, and with a cry 
that voiced the suffering soul-hunger of womankind 
she said, “Give me this water.” And as I stood 
there that day, looking out upon burdened woman¬ 
hood, still carrying the sheaves from the field and 
doing all of the hard work and bearing the awful 
burdens of Eastern womanhood, I felt that still the 
heart of womankind is crying for emancipation and 
the world has not put into effect the answer of Jesus 
to that cry. As he went out that day with his as¬ 
tonished disciples, he said: “The fields are white 
unto harvest, and the laborers are few.” He was 
looking upon just such a field of grain, perhaps saw 
the heavily burdened toilers, and looked beyond to 
the suffering masses of humanity and the small num¬ 
ber of messengers of His Grace who were ready to go 
forth and proclaim the world's emancipation from sin. 


Round about Jerusalem 


261 


On the way back to Jerusalem (this time in a Ford) 
we passed over many winding roadways, mostly 
built by British military and leading from one ter¬ 
race to another higher or lower on the mountain 
side, and ever the gaping shell holes and broken 
artillery told the story of the fearful struggle to con¬ 
quer this land. We passed by the village of Seilun, 
situated on a small hill in the midst of a valley. 
This was Shiloh, where the Ark of God first found a 
resting place and the Tent of Meeting a permanent 
home. Here Samuel ministered before Eli, and the 
people came up once a year to sacrifice unto Jehovah. 

Twelve miles north of Jerusalem we pass Bethel, 
where Jacob dreamed his wonderful dream of the 
ladder, where Jeroboam erected one of his altars, 
and where many other things entering into the 
sacred traditions of the race took place. After pass¬ 
ing Ramah, with Mizpah on our right and Gibeah 
of Saul on the left, the Damascus Gate comes into 
view and we are once again at the center of the world. 

The next journey was to Hebron, and such a time 
as I had getting away from Jerusalem! Dealing 
with those same miserable, inefficient Arabs who 
ride in Fords, caused Burton Holmes, who was then 
in the city, to name me "The Hebron Pilgrim”—so 
many times he passed me at the Jaffa Gate still wait¬ 
ing for the Ford to start—and often he tried to tempt 
me away from my purpose; but I had lost my temper 
in the matter of going to Nabulus and suffered the 
consequence, so I was trying to learn the lesson, 
once again taught us by the British officer in Bom¬ 
bay, that you cannot hurry the East. I parked my¬ 
self by the Jaffa Gate early one morning and re- 


262 Dust ond Ashes of Empires 

mained there until six o'clock that evening. At last 
we were ready and I got in the car and found twelve 
other Arabs climbing in. These were distinguished 
sheiks who had been invited to 0. E. T. A. on Mount 
Olivet for a council with the Commissioner of Pales¬ 
tine, and the Ford had been waiting all the time for 
them to get through. But it was all right since we 
were at last started. But, alas, our hopes were vain, 
for we had proceeded less than a mile, to the village 
of the Hill of Evil Counsel, when the Ford stopped 
and all of these sheiks got out and went to supper 
with some friend up there and left two of us to wait 
until they could get through eating and perform all 
the requirements of Eastern etiquette. But by eight 
o'clock we were once more on the road; and some¬ 
time after ten we were in Hebron and I found myself 
at a hotel conducted by Jews and called “The Hotel 
Eshcol of Abraham." Early the next morning I 
sought out Dr. Alexander Paterson, the veteran 
Scotch medical missionary, who showed me much 
kindness, conducting me through the Sukhs and up 
one street and down another, visiting all of the places 
of historic interest. He has been there twenty-nine 
years, and when he walks through the streets of the 
city all men stand up to do him honor. The Cave of 
Machpelah is covered by a mosque, is one of the 
most sacred places of the Moslems, and up to the 
time of the war only two Christians had ever had 
access to the interior of the mosque—and I am not 
sure they were Christians, for they were King 
Edward when he was Prince of Wales and the Kaiser 
when he was Crown Prince of Germany. A few had 
succeeded since the war, but the British Military 


Round about Jerusalem 


263 


Governor of Jerusalem told me it was impossible; 
however, he gave me a note to the Governor of 
Hebron, who was a Jew, but he could give me no 
help. I then asked Dr. Paterson what he could do. 
He said he did not know, that it was very difficult, 
but he would try. So he took me down into his 
office and introduced me to the high officer of the 
Moslems, who had charge of the mosque, and upon 
whom the doctor was going to perform an operation 
that morning, and so just a while before the opera¬ 
tion he obtained for me the coveted slip of paper that 
bade the doorkeeper admit me. 

This cave is another one of the authentic spots of 
Palestine. Hebron has been a city continuously, 
there is but one cave and that always a burial cave, 
and there is no doubt about the identification. The 
mosque was at first a Justinian Church and then a 
Crusader Church, and parts of these remain in the 
walls of the present building. On the wide floor 
there are six cenotaphs, wonderfully adorned and 
draped with rich green cloth. The first two cover 
the spots—or, to be more exact, they are directly 
over the places in the cave below—where Abraham 
and Sarah were buried; the second pair are over the 
graves of Isaac and Rebecca; and the last two over 
those of Jacob and Leah. They also opened a small 
hole in the floor and allowed me to look down into 
the cave, but all I could see was just darkness. 

Hebron is a beautiful place, nestling among the 
hills and surrounded by vineyards; in fact, every 
hilltop has on it a winepress, and the finest grapes in 
the world grow here. It is interesting to think that 
perhaps this was the place to which the Hebrew spies 


264 Dust and Ashes of Empires 

came when they brought back such fine grapes. On 
the top of one of the hills are ancient ruins and there 
are many olive trees. As we stood on one of the 
hills looking to the south, through a gap between two 
hills, there was another hill that filled in the gap, 
except farther on, and Dr. Paterson asked me if I 
could see ruins on the side of that hill. At last I did 
see them, and he said that was ancient Carmel, 
where Abigail and Nabal lived until David came 
along and had a little affair with the family. In 
fact, from where we stood the wilderness of Judea 
and the vicinity of the Cave of Adullam could be 
seen. There are two pools in Hebron now; one of 
them built by one of the Caliphs to furnish water 
for the pilgrims on the way to Mecca, but the other 
one is undoubtedly the pool by which David hung 
the murderers of Ishbosheth. Not far away to the 
west is the Russian Hospice, which they claim is the 
field of Mamre, and an ancient oak in the enclosure 
is said to be the tree under which Abraham sat when 
the angels visited him. That, however, is rather a 
long time for an oak to live. 

One morning I made arrangements for a seat in 
an auto, and then took my camera and walked on 
toward Jerusalem, finding many things of interest. 
On a certain high ridge one can stand and see the 
whole of the Judean wilderness, which lies consid¬ 
erably below, is one mass of hilltops, and gives the 
impression of a sea of hilltops. It is extremely for¬ 
bidding and a splendid hiding place for robbers. 
This whole country was once heavily wooded; then 
travel was impossible through here, since robbers 
could go without fear of being apprehended. Not 


Round about Jerusalem 265 

far from here was the home of Amos the great 
prophet. As I walked along this road (the car was 
a long time catching up with me), I came, hot and 
tired, to a very fine spring. It flows straight out 
from a solid rock and into a small trough carved 
from the solid rock. The stream is perhaps one-half 
inch in diameter and is very cold and refreshing. 
This is the traditional spot where Philip baptized the 
eunuch, and this tradition has clung to the place 
since the days of Constantine and earlier. 

Just before reaching Bethlehem we came to the 
Pools of Solomon, which are believed now to have 
been built much later than the days of Solomon; but 
they are a splendid system, one after another built 
of masonry and representing an enormous amount 
or work. Just below these are the so-called Gardens 
of Solomon, where extremely fine apricots grow. 

Bethlehem is a city of about ten thousand in¬ 
habitants, most of whom are Christians. It lies on 
a hill the same height as the highest of Jerusalem; 
and while there are few places of attraction there 
now, it has been a city of romance and poetry as 
perhaps no other city of Palestine. It was the scene 
of that beautiful love story of Ruth, also the residence 
of Jesse and the birthplace of David. Here the 
angels announced the coming of the Saviour and 
here in its khan was born Jesus, who was to save his 
people. The chief place of interest is the Church of 
the Nativity, and the place of the birth of Christ has 
been located in this cave since the time of Justin 
Martyr, in the second century. The grottoes under 
the church represent the birthplace of Jesus; one in 
which he was born, one in which the manger was 


266 Dust and Ashes of Empires 

located in which he was placed after his birth, and 
another is where St. Jerome and the historian 
Eusebius are buried. Another grotto is shown where 
it is said the slaughtered Innocents were placed, 
having been gathered together and their bodies buried 
here. It is claimed that the church, while many times 
restored, is practically the same as it has always been, 
and so far it has not been possible to deny this. The 
roof is of lead, the gift of King Edward IV. It was 
restored by Baldwin, who was crowned king here on 
Christmas day 1101. 

The field of the Shepherds is to the southeast of 
the town and a shrine is there, said to be at the cave 
where the shepherds were when they received the 
announcement. Not far away is the so-called field 
of Ruth. The inhabitants of Bethlehem now live 
mostly by making mother-of-pearl beads, at which 
they are very skillful. They are also very quarrel¬ 
some. Many guides wish to help you through the 
town. One accosted us and told us he was from 
Chicago, and so, of course, got the job, while the 
rest of them followed and told us from time to time 
what a liar our guide was. 

Just as you leave Bethlehem, on the road to 
Jerusalem, Rachel’s tomb is passed, and the tradi¬ 
tion of this spot has persisted for many centuries, 
even before the Christian Era. Indeed her tomb is 
spoken of at different places in the Old Testament, 
but it seems that she was buried at or near Bethle¬ 
hem. Bethlehem lies five miles south of Jerusalem, 
and is beautiful for situation. There is near by a 
well, called David’s well, which is supposed to be the 
one referred to in the book of Samuel when he said, 


Round about Jerusalem 267 

“Oh that one would give me drink of the water of 
the well of Bethlehem, which is by the gate!” 

Jerusalem is ever a city of interest. You may go 
where you will over Palestine, but, like the ancient 
Jew, you are always turning your face toward the 
Holy City. There were few Americans in the city 
while I was there, but they were some of God's elect: 
Dr. Glazebrook, the American Consul, who is also 
an Episcopal clergyman, was exceedingly popular 
with all classes, and it was easy to see why, for he 
left nothing undone to make everybody happy; Dr. 
W. H. Worrell, of the Hartford Theological Semi¬ 
nary, who was just finishing his tenure of office as 
Director of the American School of Oriental Re¬ 
search; Dr. W. F. Albright, who was succeeding 
him; Dr. A. C. Harte, the Y. M. C. A. man whom 
all the world loves; and the members of the American 
Colony. All of these laid me under great obligations. 
The presence in the city of Dr. John P. Peters, of 
the University of the South, and Dr. A. T. Clay, of 
Yale University, was more valuable to me than any¬ 
thing else. Both of these great scholars and great 
brothers did much for me. With Dr. Peters I studied 
the topography of Jerusalem, delved into the tombs 
of the ancient Hebrews, and traveled over the 
country. Dr. Clay was of more service to me than 
any man I met on the entire journey. I first met 
him one night at Ur of the Chaldees, then here in 
Jerusalem he did everything for me and he and his 
family made things pleasant, finally in London they 
continued this kindness, and a friendship was formed 
that is one of the precious heritages of the journey. 

With Dr. Albright, who is one of the world's com- 


268 Dust and Ashes of Empires, 

ing scholars and who at the same time is a friend 
worth while, I walked round the city walls by the 
light of the full moon and thought of Nehemiah and 
his experiences. 

On our way from Haifa to Jerusalem I met on the 
train two Syrian girls from Safed, in Galilee. They 
were fine Christian characters and on their way down 
to Jerusalem to study in a summer normal school 
going on there, for they were teachers. After our 
arrival in Jerusalem I met them again, found them 
all that I had first thought them to be, and we used 
to take trips around the city together. One Sunday 
afternoon we walked out to Bethany. Passing 
around the southern end of Mount Olivet and by the 
ruins of Bethpage, we came to the miserable little 
village of Bethany, where we visited the house of 
Mary and Martha and the house of Simon the Leper 
and went down into the tomb of Lazarus—a very 
pretentious rock tomb digged deep into the virgin 
stone and the only tomb in the vicinity, so probably 
the authentic one. After we had spent what time 
we desired to spend there we started walking back 
and, finding ourselves on the slopes of Mount Olivet, 
sat down on some stones and watched the scene. 
The sun was just setting behind Jerusalem and the 
penciled streams of golden light poured through the 
openings between the buildings on old Mount Zion 
and were reflected back from the seven gilded domes 
of the Russian Church just above Gethsemane and 
left the shadows hanging, ghostlike, over the valley 
of the Kidron, while the Dome of the Rock, covering 
the place of Solomon’s High Altar, was silhouetted 
against the brazen background of the western sky. 


Round about Jerusalem 


269 


Mount Olivet, with its towers and its memories, 
loomed high and dark above us; Bethlehem lay in 
front of us, five miles away, nestling on her hills and 
reminding us of that night when the angels of God 
sang the song of a redeemed world; to our left the 
gorge of the Dead Sea, across which, over the moun¬ 
tains of Moab, hung the purple haze of the even¬ 
time, with bold Nebo rising darkly above them all. 
We sat by the pathway that Jesus often trod on his 
way to Bethany and to the house whose portals were 
ever open to him with the most hospitable welcome 
and to the hearts of friends who loved him and 
longed for his coming. As we sat thus, I said to the 
girls, “Sing”; and beautifully they began to sing, 

“Abide with me! Fast falls the eventide, 

The darkness deepens—Lord, with me abide!” 

Then I said to them, “Sing me a song of your own 
native land,” and they began without hesitation to 
sing, 

“O Galilee, sweet Galilee, 

Where Jesus loved so much to be,” 

and then they sang, 

“Lead, kindly Light, amid th’ encircling gloom, 

Lead Thou me on! 

The night is dark, and I am far from home,” 
and then a sense of homesickness came over me; and 
as I thought of the loved ones far away and the home 
across the wide seas, there came to me a sense of the 
presence of One, who was an outcast and homeless, 
who walked these very pathways and who was him¬ 
self the author of Love and the Builder of Homes. 

The trip from Jerusalem to the Land of Goshen 


270 Dust and Ashes of Empires 

in Egypt now requires about eight hours of steady 
traveling on a slow train. The journey which re¬ 
quired forty years in the time of the Exodus, at 
least for the Israelites, can now be completed by 
train in less than a day and by aeroplane in a mat¬ 
ter of an hour or so. The way leads down through 
the Valley of Sorek to Lud, where trains are changed, 
since the through train to Egypt runs from Haifa, 
and on this you have much better accommodations. 

I made this trip with Burton Holmes and his group 
of photographers. Leaving Jerusalem at 7 a.m. and 
requiring some time for changes at Lud, the way then 
leads down over the old Philistine Plain, past the 
mound of the city of Askelon, where the British are now 
excavating, until you stop at the modern city of 
Gaza, the only one of the Philistine cities still doing 
business at the same old stand. Then you leave the 
fertile district and verge into the desert. The railway 
follows roughly the seashore, but is often out of 
sight of the sea. Around this curve the armies of the 
ages have come, but how they ever managed the 
water problem is more than I can tell. The British 
solved it by building a pipe line as they traveled. 
But this whole territory is one sea of blistering sand, 
wave upon wave of pure white, drifting sand, 
unspeakable in its desolation. Sometimes a high 
hill can be seen, but it is also pure sand and shifts its 
position from year to year. Once we came upon a 
cross sticking up out of a billow of sand, marking 
the spot where some British Tommy lies buried. I 
can imagine nothing more lonely than a grave in 
such a desert. Across this desert the British fought 
their way, and everywhere could be seen block- 


Round about Jerusalem 


271 


houses and barbed wire entanglements, rapidly being 
covered up by the drifting sand. Across this glis¬ 
tening desert the Hebrew pilgrims of freedom came; 
and when one reads the story of their exploits and 
looks upon this awful barrier which they somehow 
overcame, he is prone to think that this was their 
greatest achievement, and must have required the 
aid of miracle to accomplish. But as they marched 
over it they kept their faces toward a new world 
and a new day; undaunted by disease and death, 
they crept on until at last they found themselves 
in the Land of Promise and of ultimate conquest. 

As one looks back on the land of Palestine, it be¬ 
comes the wonderland of the world. Take a map of 
the Near East and study the land. How small it is! 
The habitable part of it, which was occupied by the 
Hebrews, is little more than a hundred miles long 
and with an average width of thirty-five miles, al¬ 
most all of it infertile and rocky, or with deserts 
encroaching upon it; covered with mountains and 
poorly watered, occupied by a race of untrained 
people, desert Nomads, it has yet won for itself the 
highest place in the history of men and of those 
things which go to make up the highest principles of 
civilization. Look at Egypt, where the vast empires 
of the earliest times developed and to the highest 
point. Look at Babylonia, hoary with antiquity 
and the wonder of the world in her advancement in 
science and literature when history dawns. Look at 
that unknown Empire of Northern Syria. And all 
of these were compelled, when they went abroad, to 
cross little Palestine and to leave here the influence 
of their civilization. It was the “bridge of the na- 


272 Dust and Ashes of Empires 

tions,” the pathway of the empires, and the camping 
grounds of the ancient armies that went forth to 
battle. There are no accidents with God, and it is 
no accident that these people were set here amidst 
these hills to commune with the great civilizations of 
earth as they came and went and to accumulate from 
them all the best things of those nations. It was 
God's schoolroom in which he taught his people and 
got them ready for the task of life, and they became 
God's chosen people, made in his own appointed 
molds and fashioned after his own pattern to do his 
will. And from this little land has gone forth the 
ethics which undergird all ethics, the laws which are 
the foundation of all laws, the literature which makes 
all other literatures pale into insignificance, and the 
religion of the world's redemption. Here in the 
midst of the rocks and hills, buffeted on every hand 
and by all environment, developed the sturdiest 
stock of men the world has ever known: Magnani¬ 
mous Abraham, Cunning Jacob, Splendid Joseph, 
Towering David, Wise Solomon, Glorious Elijah, 
Amos the Great, Ezekiel the Statesman, and others 
whose names are on every lip. 

Here fought the marvelous Maccabees, here de¬ 
veloped the mighty Apostles of our Lord, and over 
these stony ways walked the feet of Him who 
glorified all with which he came in contact and 
summed up all of history and experience and brought 
them to his people. But he came unto his own, and 
his own received him not. He walked on out of 
Palestine into the hearts of men, and, crowned with 
glory, he walks the ways of humanity to-day, and 
behold, the Temple of God is with men. 


CHAPTER XXII 
Tut-Ankh-Amen 

Egypt has ever been a land of wonders. As far 
back as Herodotus, and earlier, tourists were going 
there for the express purpose of seeing the wonderful 
things left there by that great civilization that was 
already decadent. In fact, there are many indica¬ 
tions that Asiatic tourists were swarming through 
the gates of the eastern Delta thousands of years be¬ 
fore Herodotus. There is even some evidence that 
the author of Job had seen the pyramids and wrote 
of “ kings and counselors of the earth who built up 
waste places for themselves” and “princes that had 
gold who filled their houses with silver.” The theory 
has been advanced that these verses, found in the 
third chapter of Job, might be interpreted as mean¬ 
ing that kings and counselors had built them places 
in the “waste”—that is, the desert—and had filled 
these houses of death with gold and silver. However 
this may be, history finds its richest source in the 
tombs which lie on the margin of the Sahara along 
the west bank of the Nile. 

There is no other place yet discovered which yields 
such rich returns in historical lore, and this is true 
for several reasons. The first of these is that the 
ancient Egyptian felt that whatever he did and had 
in this life would follow him into the next world, 
and so he saw to it that everything he wanted in 
this life was placed in his tomb to be miraculously 
transformed into the spiritual realm of his soul. 

18 (273) 


274 Dust and Ashes of Empires 

Moreover, he thought the gods were dependent on 
the records in his tomb for information concerning 
his character, and he did his best to preserve the 
record of his life as faithfully as he could for the 
scrutiny of the gods. The so-called Book of the 
Dead is not a book at all, but a series of denials, 
covering the forty-two mortal sins, and was for the 
eyes of the forty-two gods who were the objects of 
those sins. These were usually written in single 
columns, and each column, dealing with a particular 
sin, was written under a picture of that particular 
god. 

There is in the necropolis of Sakkarah, near old 
Memphis, which is being excavated by the University 
of Pennsylvania, a mastaba from the beginning of 
the fifth dynasty, about 2750 B.C., which contains 
a most interesting description of the life of a noble 
of that period. On these walls there is depicted 
almost everything that could have happened in the 
life and experience of a man of affairs of that day, 
even to the minutest details and sometimes with a 
shocking frankness. The smallest matters are not 
considered unimportant, so that we are able not only 
to reproduce the ordinary things of court, commer¬ 
cial, and social life, but even to reconstruct the think¬ 
ing, the fun-making, [and the processes of experi¬ 
ence which disclose the inmost secrets of the soul of 
man. All this had to do with the hereafter. 

The Egyptian was ever a firm believer in the im¬ 
mortality of the soul and of the resurrection of 
the body. The scarab, or sacred beetle, was his 
symbol of returning life. He saw the beetle, as every 
farmer boy has seen it in this country, roll up its ball 


Tut-Ankh-Amen 


275 


of filth, leave it for the action of the sun to hatch 
the eggs deposited therein, break the ball open, and 
spring into multiplied life. But the Egyptian sup¬ 
posed that the beetle, dying after the ball was com¬ 
plete, itself returned to life, for he did not observe 
the eggs. So far did they carry this doctrine in their 
worship of the sun that the sun itself soon became to 
them one of these balls rolled across the heaven as 
the symbol of life which is and which is to be. 

One thing was peculiarly essential to the happiness 
of the soul after death according to the Egyptian 
creed, and that was the belief that after a certain 
period of time the soul would return to claim the 
body and reinvest it, and the success of this action 
depended upon the ability of the soul to recognize the 
body. For this reason the tombs were so prepared as 
to preserve the body in its perfect state, and for this 
purpose embalming was developed. 

Frequently the whole life of a king was given over 
to a most thorough preparation for the hereafter. 
Khufu (Cheops) spent thirty years building the Great 
Pyramid of Gizeh, used a hundred thousand men, 
and very likely exhausted the resources of his empire. 
This mighty tomb, which challenges the admiration 
and the despair of all the engineers of every age, covers 
thirteen acres of land, was four hundred and eighty- 
one feet high, and contained approximately two 
million three hundred thousand stones, each weigh¬ 
ing more than two and a half tons, and is built with 
such exactness that there has not been found so much 
as one-hundredth of an inch in variation. In the exact 
center, an equal distance from the top and the bottom 
and from the sloping sides, is the tomb chamber 


276 Dust and Ashes of Empires 

made to contain the body of one man. Over this 
tomb chamber is a series of air chambers and granite 
blocks fitted together like a Gothic roof, so that if an 
earthquake should shake down this mighty pile the 
body of the king would nevertheless be preserved. 

This effort to preserve the body carried with it an 
effort to preserve the records and has helped to 
bring down to us these priceless historical treasures. 
But after the making of them and placing them care¬ 
fully away the next great thing is the climate. The 
climate preserves everything. Pieces of cloth and 
wood exposed daily to the weather for a thousand 
years remain intact. But in spite of all this, most 
of the tombs found so far have been thoroughly 
plundered. So far as we know, there has been no effort 
to account for how this was done, and we cannot 
think that an ordinary robber could have succeeded 
in carrying off the treasures of royal tombs without 
detection. The solution perhaps lies in the idea 
that kings robbed kings; and the monarchs of one 
dynasty, needing funds to replenish their treasuries, 
would rob the tombs, not of their ancestors, but of 
their predecessors of another dynasty. Up to 1922 
every single royal tomb found had been robbed, not 
excepting the pyramids. Some few lesser tombs had 
escaped. Chief among these is the tomb which con¬ 
tained the mummies of the mother and father of 
Queen Ti, wife of Amenophis III. This tomb con¬ 
tained a king's ransom of furniture and jewels. 

In 1920 the Metropolitan Museum, represented 
by Winlock and Lansing, made a wonderful discovery 
at the Hills of the Kings' Tombs. It was a lead from 
another tomb indicated by a very insignificant 


Tut-Ankh-Amen 


277 


crevice. Here they found a noble of the Middle King¬ 
dom, about 2000 B.C., with not only inscriptions, 
but everything in the experience of this man repre¬ 
sented in figures of clay and wood. There was a 
house similar to the one in which they lived, on the 
porch of which sat the noble and his wife watching 
things go on. Near-by was a barn in which cattle 
were stabled and dairymen milking cows. There 
were also a slaughter pen with the butchers at work 
preparing meat for the household, a bakery in which 
women were baking bread, a house in which women 
were weaving cloth—and the little statues were still 
holding the gossamer threads in their hands after 
four thousand years. 

The Valley of the Kings' Tombs is three miles west 
of the river at the point where Luxor lies on the 
east bank. It is a beautiful situation. Here is 
the ancient city of Luxor, which [the Greeks 
called Thebes, after their own city. Here was 
the dwelling place of the mighty kings of the eight¬ 
eenth and nineteenth dynasties. Here the most 
wonderful temples ever erected rose in splendor. 
Karnak, lying a mile northeast of the old city, is a 
mighty complex of temples, in the miust of which 
is the incomparable Colonnaded Hall. Three miles 
west was the necropolis, the most glorious the world 
has ever known. Strange to say, Amenophis III. 
violated the usual rule and built a palace near these 
hills. The west side of the river was ever the burying 
place of all. “Going west" was an early Egyptian 
term for death. The word for death itself in hier¬ 
oglyphic is the most beautiful in any language. 
It is the “unmooring"—unmooring the barge that 


278 


Dust and Ashes of Empires 


carries the mummy across to the west side for inter¬ 
ment in the dry sands of the Sahara or in the rock 
cliffs amid the sands. 

From the palace of Amenophis III. northward 
there was a line of mortuary temples whose remains 
are still startling in the glory of their execution. 
There were temples of the eighteenth dynasty of 
the Ptolemies, of Sethos, while on the east face of the 
cliffs there lies the mortuary temple of the great Queen 
Hatshepsut, called Der el Bahri, with inscriptions 
of great historical value and the ruins of which are 
still unusually splendid. Near the center of this 
line is a mighty ruin which was the Rameseum, the 
mortuary temple of Rameses II., oppressor of Israel, 
on the walls of which is the account of his campaign 
against Kadesh on the Orontes, with the first re¬ 
corded treaty of peace in the world and also the plan 
of the battle. 

In the midst of this ruin lies the most colossal 
statue ever carved, made of red granite, transported 
from the First Cataract at Assuan, and is the likeness 
of Rameses carved from a single block weighing a 
thousand tons. Its workmanship is well-nigh perfect. 
The farthest relic toward the river, on the edge of 
a fertile field, is the remains of the mortuary temple 
of Amenophis III., in front of which stand the impos¬ 
ing monuments intended to be portrait statues of the 
king. They are called the Memnon statues, because 
one of them used to sing at daybreak. 

The entire face of the hills, which rise to consider¬ 
able height and beat back the sands of the desert from 
the fertile fields of the Nile Valley, is honeycombed 
with the tombs of queens and nobles. The climb to 


Tut-Ankh-Amen 


279 


the top of them is tiresome and more or less danger¬ 
ous; but once on the peaks the view is wonderful, 
not only because you can see so much of the valley 
and the eastern desert, but because lying at your feet 
are the remains of this wonderful civilization, with 
its great temples and its pretentious tombs, while 
three miles away and in full view are the survivals 
of the glorious temples of Luxor and Karnak. Im¬ 
agination runs rife as you look back into history and 
see the hurrying masses of humanity accomplishing 
those undying tasks of life and building those en¬ 
during monuments of a civilization transcending in 
many respects our own. 

Turning around, you look straight out into the 
yellow Sahara, but at your feet lies a hidden 
valley small in compass and with seemingly no out¬ 
let. By devious and dangerous ways you descend 
into that valley, and here in this wild seclusion you 
find on every side doorways opening into corridors 
which lead far down into the heart of the mountains 
where reposed the bodies of the kings of the Theban 
dynasties. Sixty-eight of these have been previously 
opened and explored, but each had been thoroughly 
rifled of its contents and even the mummies were 
desecrated. Some one in the long ago, perhaps a 
king, gathered up all of these mummies and placed 
several of them in the side chamber of one of the 
tombs and sealed it securely. The remaining ones 
were taken for safe keeping to a cache on the valley 
side of the hills, where they were found in 1875 and 
all but that of Amenophis II. (which was the only 
one remaining in its own tomb) taken to the museum 
at Cairo. The mummy of Amenophis II. sleeps 


280 Dust and Ashes of Empires 

to-day in his own tomb, as he was buried thirty- 
three hundred years ago. 

These tombs are much alike, and presumably the 
tomb of Tut-ankh-amen is not within itself an ex¬ 
ception. The doorway opens on the mountain side at 
an angle, and you enter a declining corridor which 
continues for a long distance till a lateral corridor is 
reached which leads on into the mountain, with 
something somewhere to deceive the tomb robbers 
that were sure to come. In the case of the tomb of 
Amenophis II., which lies but a short distance from 
the new tomb, there is near the end of the lateral 
corridor a deep hole, perhaps thirty feet deep and 
thirty feet square, at the bottom of which and almost 
in the corner is a door, all of which was an attempt 
to make the robber think that the body was buried 
there. Crossing this cavity, the corridor leads on for 
a time and then turns down another decline to an 
antechamber, which opens into the real tomb cham¬ 
ber, in the center of which is the stone sarcopha¬ 
gus, a part of the original mountain, left in the 
process of hewing out the tomb, and in which lies 
the king's mummy. 

The eighteenth dynasty was the highest reach of a 
civilization which had already attained a high place 
when history dawns. Forty-two hundred and forty- 
one years before the Christian era this people had 
established an astronomical calendar, and in the days 
of Menes, 3400 B.C., they were mining copper and 
working metal. In 3000 B.C. they were building 
pyramids to insure immortality, and in that same 
age there was a wise man with his sayings which dealt 
with the philosophies of life. In the twenty-ninth 


Tut-Ankh-Amen 


281 


century they had sewer systems, bathtubs, and 
tubular drills. In the twenty-eighth century they 
knew the circulation of the blood in the human body, 
and a hundred years later they were developing 
embalming. Later on they had a prophet with a 
message much like that of Messianism, and from one 
step to another they had climbed until at last, like 
almost every other nation, there came a decline and 
the foreigner came in. 

This foreigner is himself an enigma, and when 
historical data are more abundant we may find out 
some startling things about him. Josephus called 
these foreigners "The Hyksos,” which he himself in¬ 
terprets as meaning Shepherd kings . These have left 
inscriptions which lead us to believe that they were 
Asiatic Semites, who may have been closely related 
to the Hebrews. In fact, some have identified them, 
but the chronology is difficult. Some of their in¬ 
scriptions, however, leave little doubt as to their close 
relationship with the Hebrews. One of their kings 
was called Jacob-El—Jacob, the Hebrew name, and 
El, the abbreviation for Elohim, the Semitic term 
for God. Moreover, these had their capital at Thinis, 
on the eastern side of the Delta and just as close to 
Asia as they could get and still be in Egypt. 

One of their kings is referred to in the inscriptions 
as the “ king of the whole earth.” It may yet be that 
we shall find in them the remains of a Semitic empire 
which is just emerging from the mists of the unknown 
to the borderland of history. 

A young prince of the old Egyptian line who re¬ 
sided at El Kab was strong enough to organize the 
scattered remnants of the real Egyptian people and 


282 Dust and Ashes of Empires 

rebel against these foreigners, and after a siege of six 
years drove them from their city and pursued them 
as far as Mount Carmel in Palestine. Here they dis¬ 
appear from history. 

This young prince now assumes the throne of 
Egypt under the name of Ahmose the First. The 
second element in his name is the same as “Moses” 
and is the Egyptian word for child. This is the begin¬ 
ning of the empire and of the eighteenth dynasty. 
This dynasty is chiefly noted for two names borne by 
several kings, Amenophis and Thutmose. Ameno- 
phis means the “rest of Amon” or “peace of Amon”; 
Thutmose means the “ child of Thoth.” 

The highest reach of Egyptian history is under the 
reign of Thutmose III. and his sister wife, Hatshep- 
sut. All of this dynasty, except Hatshepsut and 
Amenophis IV., were world warriors. Thutmose 
made seventeen campaigns into Asia and conquered 
everything. He had vast wealth, magnificent build¬ 
ings, and a great navy. He was succeeded by Ameno¬ 
phis II., a great warrior and a worthy son of his most 
illustrious father. 

In 1411 B.C. Amenophis III. ascended the throne 
and enlarged the building operations of Thutmose 
III. He embellished the temples to the highest 
degree; and after marrying many princesses and ex¬ 
tending the influence of his kingdom in trade and 
cultural relations to every port, erecting monuments 
everywhere, and with the Habiri, who have been 
identified with the Hebrews, invading Palestine, and 
having opened up a correspondence with all of the 
kings of the earth, he suddenly set aside all of his 
wives and married the greatest woman and at the 


Tut-Ankh-Amen 


283 


same time the strangest in all of Egyptian history, 
the famous Queen Ti. She suddenly emerges as the 
dominating influence in the court, and her name ap¬ 
pears on all State documents along with that of her 
husband. The king, who dared to violate all court 
convention, was bold enough to announce his mar¬ 
riage to this unknown woman, who had no royal 
Egyptian blood in her veins. He wrote his own 
name as Amenophis III., king of kings, ruler of 
all the lands, son of the sun, etc. “And Ti, 
she is the daughter of nobody, but the wife of 
a king whose northern boundaries are on the 
other side of the Euphrates, and whose southern 
boundaries are above the Second Cataract/' He also 
made the most generous provision for her parents, 
Euye and Tuye, whose tomb was found unplundered 
and filled with splendid furniture. The faces of these 
two indicate that they were probably not of Egyptian 
blood. The hair of the father is red, though some 
think this may be due to chemical action incident 
to the embalming, while others think that if this is 
true there would be more mummies crowned with red 
hair. The profile of Queen Ti looks quite Asiatic. 

When Amenophis, who isJcalled “The Magnificent," 
died, he was succeeded by his son, Amenophis IV., 
who married a princess by the name of Nefertiti, 
who, with his mother Ti, greatly influenced him. 
This king suddenly abandoned Thebes and the 
ancient worship of Amon, whose priests were power¬ 
ful enough to form a hierarchy, moved far down the 
Nile and established a sacred city which was called 
Amarna, and there he undertook the establishment of 
a new order of things. Art was developed to the 


284 Dust and Ashes of Empires 

highest degree. Some of the sculpture of this brief 
period is almost equal to the best of Greece. Mosaic 
work is magnificent, while the king boasted that he 
himself designed the pottery. But the greatest of all 
his accomplishments was the development of reli¬ 
gious literature and ethics. He declared for a com¬ 
plete monotheism, and his god, Aton, connected with 
the sun, ruled the world in love; and while he seemed 
far away, he was in reality on the earth and every¬ 
where. Human brotherhood was of the highest 
importance, and the propagation of the religion of 
Aton was the chief end of man. Family relations 
were most sacred. Love for the wife and children was 
paramount. Another thing was the necessity for 
the complete destruction of the rival religion of 
Amon. He cut the name Amon from every temple 
and monument wherever he could find it, even out of 
his own name and that of his father. He changed his 
own name to Ikhnaton, “servant of Aton.” His 
hymn to his god is a wonderful masterpiece of the 
ancient world of psalmody and is strikingly like our 
Psalm civ. 

Where did Ikhnaton get his new religion which so 
suddenly springs out of a soil wholly unprepared for 
it? He must have received it from his mother, 
Queen Ti, who was the “daughter of nobody” and 
almost certainly an Asiatic, probably a Palestinian 
and possibly a Hebrew, of the slaves who were at this 
time under bondage in Egypt. This would not be 
unusual, for Joseph rose from the bondage of slavery 
to the premiership of the land; so did Nehemiah in 
another place, and Esther married the Persian mon¬ 
arch. Since then, Jews have ever been rising out of 


Tut-Ankh-Amen 


285 


bondage to places of power in all the governments of 
the earth. This would account for some striking 
similarities between the religion of Ikhnaton and 
that taught by Moses and sung by David. 

After seventeen years of struggle the empire large¬ 
ly went to pieces because Ikhnaton would not go to 
war; and on this account the Amarna letters were 
written, begging him to come to the rescue of his own 
provinces in Palestine and Western Asia. After all 
of the turmoil within and without the king died, 
leaving no son. His second daughter had already 
died and was buried at Amarna with the tenderest 
affection and with genuine grief, as indicated by the 
inscriptions. His first daughter had married one 
Sakere, who is now, by the will of the dying king, 
chosen to succeed to the throne. We know nothing of 
him, and after a few years, possibly months, he 
disappears, and the king's chamberlain, Tutu, 
ascends the throne at Amarna under the name of Tut- 
ankh-aton; but very quickly the Amon priesthood 
secure his consent to remove the capital back to 
Thebes and undertake the restoration of the great 
temples. Here he soon changes his name to Tut- 
ankh-amen, and the Amon worship is fully restored. 
His name signifies: Tut, image; Ankh, living; Amen, 
his god —“living image of Amon." He married 
the third daughter of Ikhnaton and inherited all of 
the possessions of the heretic king. He says that 
Ikhnaton used to rise with the dawn to teach him 
the ways of Aton. His queen was the granddaugh¬ 
ter of Ti (the Hebrew?). 

We have no monumental records of the Hebrews 
among all the remains of Egypt; not a word about 


286 


Dust and Ashes of Empires 


Joseph nor the Hebrews themselves as bondsmen 
there. Perhaps in this new-found tomb there will be, 
through Ti and Amenophis IV. (Ikhnaton), 'Some 
record corresponding to the closing chapters of Gen¬ 
esis and the opening chapters of Exodus. Tut-ankh- 
amen began his reign about 1350 B.C. He was the 
last of the eighteenth dynasty, the most glorious 
period of Egyptian history. Harmhab, who had 
been the general in the army of Ikhnaton, was the 
first king of the nineteenth dynasty. In 1292 B.C. 
Rameses II. became king and reigned sixty-seven 
years, till 1225. He tells us that he had the store 
cities of Pithom and Raamses built. Exodus tells 
us that the Hebrews built these cities for the reign¬ 
ing Pharaoh, who knew not Joseph. Moses was 
born about the time Raamses ascended the throne. 
May we not hope for a discovery here that will shed 
more light on the historical side of the Holy Scrip¬ 
tures? 

The discovery of this new tomb is quite romantic. 
Howard Carter has been there for a number of years 
and is a first-class archaeologist. He is an American 
who has been working under the direction of Lord 
Carnarvon, who represented the University of Lon¬ 
don. The writer was with them in 1920 when they 
were laboring under great difficulties and discourage¬ 
ments. 

Carter has recently issued a book entitled, “The 
Tomb of Tut-Ankh-Amen.”* In this volume he de¬ 
scribes with great vividness his own impressions as he 
went into the tomb little by little until stopped by 


'Published by George H. Doran Company, New York. 



Tut-Ankh-Amen 


287 


the Egyptian government. The introduction to this 
book is by Lady Burghclere, the sister of Lord 
Carnarvon, and is a biographical sketch of his life. 
Lord Carnarvon's death, on April 6,1923, was a blow 
to the work of opening the tomb, and subsequent 
events have proved that it was the signal for quite 
serious interruptions. Much speculation and many 
superstitious surmisings have arisen over the manner 
of Carnarvon's death, but the matter is quite simple. 
Years before he had suffered a terrible automobile 
accident in Germany, from which he never entirely 
recovered, and later he had undergone an operation 
for appendicitis which came very near ending his 
career; so, when he was bitten by an insect while 
laboring in the tomb, and perhaps was careless in the 
use of disinfectants, a thing quite frequently fatal in 
Egypt, he easily fell a prey to blood poisoning. That 
it was possible for poison to have been left in the tomb 
that would be effective in such a general way after 
thirty-two hundred and fifty years is preposterous, 
and argument on any other superstitious supposi¬ 
tion is out of the question. 

Howard Carter is a first-class archaeologist and a 
gentleman without question. He has labored well 
and long; and whatever the merits of the case which 
the Egyptian government holds against him, all good 
archaeologists and others who know him will regret 
that he has been robbed of that final achievement for 
which he had so long labored and waited, the empty¬ 
ing of the tomb, and especially the opening of the 
sarcophagus and the unwrapping of the mummy of 
the ancient king. Not only has he worked here with 
almost infinite patience through the long years, but 


288 


Dust and Ashes of Empires 


since the finding of the tomb he has conducted the 
scientific handling of the treasures with a skill that is 
beyond reproach. One by one he has carefully 
handled the delicate findings, and not one of the 
valuable antiquities has been lost to future genera¬ 
tions. 

To describe the tomb itself will be difficult within 
the limits of this chapter. Thirteen feet below the 
entrance to the tomb of Raamses VI. (1157-1150 
B.C.) the opening was found: a doorway lying against 
the hillside and completely filled. With the uncover¬ 
ing of this, steps were discovered and one by one 
these were laid bare until sixteen had been revealed. 
This stairway was ten feet high and six feet broad, at 
the bottom of which began a descending corridor 
seven feet high and about six feet wide and thirty 
feet long. There was first a sealed door at the top, 
which had earlier been broken, another sealed door at 
the bottom of the staircase, and one at the end of the 
corridor, each sealed with the Necropolis seal, which 
consisted of the jackal and nine captives, and which 
was used on all tombs in the valley. Also the seals of 
Tut-ankh-amen remained intact. Beyorid this door¬ 
way was the antechamber, 26x12 feet. A doorway 
led out from this into the Annex, another small 
chamber, filled with furniture, while a second door 
led into the tomb chamber and from this a store 
chamber about the same size as the Annex. The 
tomb chamber itself was excavated four feet deeper 
than the other rooms and the ceiling was about eleven 
feet high, the entire dimensions of the chamber being 
approximately 18x19x11 feet. These rooms were 
found to be stuffed—literally stuffed full of the most 


Tut-Ankh-Amen 


289 


gorgeous and indescribably glorious tomb furniture, 
consisting of most wonderful translucent alabasters; 
incantation cups; marvelously wrought perfume 
vases, with a slight odor of the precious ointments of 
thirty-two centuries ago; sleeping couches of the 
finest workmanship and overlaid with gold; painted 
caskets inset with semi-precious stones and worked in 
gold; caskets of gold and wood and ivory; chairs of the 
most exquisite design and overlaid heavily with pure 
gold—one of them a child's chair, probably used by 
the king in his childhood and preserved as a fond 
mother of to-day puts away the keepsakes of child¬ 
hood, and another a golden throne of the most mar¬ 
velous workmanship, not used actually as a throne 
but as a palace chair, which had done service in the 
family at Amarna and later brought to Thebes. 
The latter is of wood overlaid with sheet gold and de¬ 
signed allegorically to represent the religion of the 
Amarna period. The arms are formed of wings and 
crowns wrought in pure gold, while the back presents 
a scene from the domestic life of the royal family, 
showing the queen touching the king's gorgeous collar 
with perfume. A profusion of jewelry with pendants 
of golden scarabs, a wonderful corselet of gold and 
jewels, many, many rings, buckles, walking canes, 
and bows of the finest sort were piled in confusion 
within the chambers of the tomb. Hunting stools, 
lamps, and needlework were in abundance. Among 
other things, there was a pair of knitted mittens, with 
strings at the wrist to tie them on. There were gilded 
shrines and statues of gold and overlaid guardians 
of the tomb, with gods and images of the king him¬ 
self, chariots which had actually been used, golden 
19 


290 Dust and Ashes of Empires 

sandals with buckles of pure gold made to represent 
lotus flowers, marvelous couches whose sides and 
heads are represented by cows, lions, and mythical 
animals; and most wonderful of all, the funeral 
bouquets which were tenderly placed in the tomb by 
loving hands on that day in the far-away past when 
they laid the king to rest. All of this and a thousand 
other things were piled about in the chambers. 
On the east side is the store chamber opening out 
from the tomb chamber itself. In this was found a 
most beautiful monument, the central part of which 
consisted of a chest in the shape of a shrine and with 
a cornice of sacred serpents, all overlaid with gold 
and surrounded by most wonderful statues of the 
four tutelary goddesses of the dead. Carter de¬ 
scribes these as he first looked upon them as being 
“ gracious figures with outstretched protective arms, 
so natural and lifelike in their pose, so pitiful and 
compassionate the expression of their faces, that one 
felt it almost sacrilege to look at them. One guarded 
the shrine on each of its four sides; but whereas the 
figures at front and back kept their gaze firmly fixed 
upon their charge, an additional note of touching 
realism was imparted by the other two, for their 
heads were turned sideways, looking over their 
shoulders toward the entrance, as though to watch 
against surprise. It is undoubtedly the Canopic 
chest and contains the jars which play such an im¬ 
portant part in the ritual of mummification.” * 
The work of opening the tomb, long delayed by a 
misunderstanding with the Egyptian government, 


*“The Tomb of Tut-Ankh-Amen,” H. Carter, page 251. 



Tut-Ankh-Amen 


291 


is to be continued this winter by Mr. Carter 
under a new agreement whereby all of the con¬ 
tents of the tomb will remain in the Egyptian 
Musem at Cairo. The sarcophagus itself re¬ 
mains to be uncovered. If it follows the conven¬ 
tional burials of nobility in that ancient time, it will 
contain three cedar coffins, the one in the other and 
each incrusted in gold and set with stones; in the 
innermost one will be the mummy of the king, and it 
is hard to picture what the magnificent display there 
will be like, for no other royal tomb has ever been 
opened and revealed to the world just as it had been 
left in the glory of its paraphernalia. We have had 
some wonderful exhibitions of the art of burial in 
the Nobles' tombs and we have seen the splendor of 
the outer things of King Tut-ankh-amen—what 
must be the magnificence of the royal mummy itself? 
It will probably be incased in pure sheet gold, marvel¬ 
ously carved and etched and decorated; and perhaps 
dazzling jewels and rings and necklaces and other 
things will adorn the body of this royal representa¬ 
tive of that glorious age of Egypt's splendor. But 
most of all we await the revelation of historical 
documents. Will we find the long-looked-for records 
of the Hebrews in Egypt? Will the documents be¬ 
longing to Queen Ti (the Hebrew?) be found here? 
Shall we learn of Joseph and his premiership? 
Perhaps. W r e wait. 









INDEX 


PREPARED BY 

Aaron, 257. 

Abana, 196, 197. 

Abbas, 86. 

Abasside, 118. 

Abdallatif, Caliph, 32. 

Abd el Melik, 236. 

Abel, 205. 

Abigail, 264. 

Abimelech, 260. 

Abraham, 8, 61, 65, 82, 115, 
142, 158, 205, 228, 230, 232, 
236, 257, 259, 263, 264, 272. 
Abraham, River of, 185. 
Absalom, 239. 

Abu Hammid, 61. 

Abu Hureihreh, 159. 

Abu Roash, 18, 24. 

Abu Souer, 62. 

Abul Kamal, 129, 148, 149. 
Abusir, 18, 26. 

Abydos, 39. 

Achor, 219. 

Acre, 213, 218. 

Acropolis, 177. 

Adam, 205, 231. 

Aden, 71. 

Adonis, 185. 

Adriatic, 12. 

Adullam, Cave of, 264. 

Africa, 60. 

Africa, Central, 13, 60. 

African Coast, 11. 

Ahab, 199, 217. 

Ahaziah, 210. 

Ahmose I., 282. 

Ain Karim, 249, 250, 252. 

Ain Tab, 183. 

Ajalon, 222. 

Akir, 220. 

Akurquf, 121. 

Alabama, 120, 251. 


CURTIS B. HALEY 

Albright, W. F., 252, 267. 
Aleppo, 143,154-156, 164-167, 
173. 

Alexander the Great, 16, 41, 
73, 108, 110, 116, 120, 158, 
192. 

Alexandria, 12-16, 58, 68. 
Alexandria, Bay of, 12. 

Ali, 102, 103. 

Ali Mustapha, 78, 131, 132, 
160, 163. 

Allah, 83. 

Allenby Hotel, 224. 

Allenby, Lord, 211, 252. 
Amarna, 35, 38, 181, 221, 283, 
285, 289. 

Amenophis, 36, 37, 52, 282, 
283. 

Amenophis II., 51, 52, 279, 
280, 282. 

Amenophis III., 37, 41, 43, 48, 
276, 278, 282, 283. 
Amenophis IV., 35, 37, 46, 

282, 283, 286. 

America, 113,151,200. 
American Relief Station, 187. 
American School of Archaeo¬ 
logical Research, 121. 

American School of Oriental 
Research, 252, 267. 
American Scientific Mission, 5, 
8, 13, 144. 

American University, 181, 
182, 259. 

Americans, 121, 127, 130, 143, 
155, 156, 227. 

Amon, 35, 36, 38, 45, 46, 173, 

283, 284. 

Amos, 244, 265, 722. 
Amraphel, 158. 

Amurru, 164. 

( 293 ) 



294 


Dust and Ashes of Empires 


Aneh, 147-149. 

Anglo-Persian Oil Company, 
74. 

Annunciation, Church of the, 
216. 

Anti-Lebanon Mountains, 168, 
170, 172, 175, 176, 196. 
Antiochus, 216. 

Antiochus Epiphanes, 169. 
Antoninus Pius, 177. 

Anubis, 185. 

Apis vaults, 30. 

Aqarquf, 143, 144. 

Arab cemetery, 135. 

Arabia, 63, 71, 73. 

“Arabian Nights,” 117. 
Arabian Sea, 71, 73. 

Arabs, 127, 142-144, 146, 149- 
153, 161, 162, 166, 180, 183, 
195, 262. 

Arimathsea, 220. 

Armageddon, 211, 217. 
Armenians, 122, 143, 231, 242. 
Artaxerxes Mnemon, 144. 
Ascension, Chapel of the, 242, 
243. 

Ashur, 124-127, 141. 
Ashurbanipal, 134. 

Ashurians, 124. 

Ashurnadirpal, 140. 

Asia, 37, 56, 60-62, 65, 281, 
285. 

Asiatic Semites, 281. 

Asiatic tourists, 273. 

Askar, 258. 

Askelon, 270. 

Assuan, 13, 14, 19, 25, 47, 54, 
56, 57, 278. 

Assuit, 38. 

Assur, 124, 149. 

Assyria, 7, 74, 124, 127, 136, 
141, 158, 161, 164, 173. 
Assyrians, 124, 126, 166, 169, 
211 . 

Atlanta University, 182. 

Aton, 36, 284, 285. 

Augustus Caesar, 176, 219. 
Aurelian, 169. 


Baalbek, 175,176,178,180,203. 
Babel, Tower of, 106,108,110, 
111 , 121 . 

Babylon, 100, 101, 106, 108, 
113-118, 146, 192. 
Babylonia, 7, 74, 80, 96, 113, 
124, 125, 146, 158, 161, 164, 
173, 194, 197, 271. 

Bacchus, 177, 178. 

Bagdad, 97, 117-125, 142, 144, 
165. 

Bagdad Railway, 78. 

Bakuba, 122,143. 

Balah, Lake, 61. 

Balbiki, 176. 

Baldwin, 266. 

Baliano, 15, 38. 

Barada, 196, 197. 

Barak, 211, 212. 

Barclay, Captain, 84, 94. 
Barron Hotel, 165. 

Bashan, 203, 205, 215. 

Basrah, 74, 75, 78, 79,131. 
Bedouins, 124, 125, 203, 208. 
Beetle, sacred, 274. 

Beirut, 172, 181, 183, 186-190, 
194, 197, 259. 

Beisan, 209. 

Belbeis, 61. 

Belshazzar, 116. 

Belus, Temple of, 107. 

Beni Amran, 35. 

Berytus, 181. 

Bethany, 244, 268, 269. 

Bethel, 244, 254, 261. 
Bethesda, Pool of, 227. 
Bethlehem, 244, 265, 266, 269. 
Bethpage, 268. 

Bethsaida, 208. 

Beth-shan, 209, 210, 213, 216. 
Beth-shemesh, 221. 

Beth-zur, 222. 

Birs Nimrud, 105, 106, 110. 
Bitter Lakes, 61. 

Bittir, 222. 

Bliss, 225. 

Bombay, 72, 73, 121, 261. 
Bonaparte, Napoleon, 17, 211. 
Book of the Dead, 274. 
^Borsippa, 106, 110. 


Baal, 176, 216. 



Index 295 


Bowman, Major, 121. 

Boy Scouts, 122. 

Breasted, J. H., 5, 13, 36, 75, 
90, 91, 95, 104, 145, 156, 
160, 170, 200, 202. 

British army, 152, 184, 215, 
245, 253, 261, 270. 

British Empire, 100. 

British Foreign Office, 5. 
British general, 144. 

British government, 16, 100, 
136, 143, 145, 151, 152, 183, 
245, 251. 

British Museum, 26, 38. 
British military road, 214. 
British officers, 136, 146, 152, 
261. 

British prefect, 245. 

British soldiers, 137, 143, 259, 
270. 

British Y. M. C. A., 251. 
Brown, 182. 

Bubastis, 62. 

Bull, L. S., 5, 13, 91, 187. 
Burghclere, Lady, 287. 
Burning Bush, Chapel of, 68. 
Byblos, 186, 187. 

Caesarea, 219. 

Caesars, 11, 12, 158. 

Cain, 205. 

Cairo, 15, 16, 18-20, 24, 32-38, 
44, 52, 167, 291. 

Calah, 138. 

Caliphs, 17, 117, 207. 

Calneh, 108. 

Calvary, 237, 238. 

Cana, 215. 

Canaan, 250. 

Candace, Queen, 63. 
Capernaum, 208. 

Caracalla, 177. 

Carmel, 212, 214, 218, 219, 
256, 264, 282. 

Carnarvon, Lord, 286, 287. 
Carter, Howard, 286, 287, 290, 
291. 

Cassites, 121. 

Catacombs, 150. 


Cataract, First, 13, 14, 28, 29, 
56,278; Second, 43, 283. 
Catherine, Mount, 66, 68. 
Central Africa, 182. 

Chaldean bishop, 123,139. 
Chaldean Christians, 119. 
Chaldeans, 129. 

Chalus, 166. 

Cheops, 18, 19, 33, 275. 
Chephren, 18. 

Chicago, 132, 266. 

Chicago, University of, 213. 
Chosran, Arch of, 120. 

Christ, 212, 216, 220, 228,229, 
231. 

Christian era, 42, 146, 186, 

211 . 

Christian Scriptures, 8. 
Christians, 119, 129, 139, 217* 
220, 227, 229, 239, 262. 
Chrysorrhoas, 197. 

Clark, Mr., 222. 

Clay, A. T., 6, 164, 267. 
Clemenceau, 18. 

Cleopatra, 216. 

Codex Sinaiticus, 68. 

Codex Vaticanus, 68. 
Coele-Syria, 195. 

Coffeehouses, 15. 
Commissioner of Palestine, 
262. 

Congo, 13. 

Constantine, 177, 185, 228, 

99Q 94.9 9fiK 

Constantinople, 123,167,192. 
Copper drain pipe, 27. 
Copper mines, 28. 

Copts, 231. 

Cornelius, 219. 

Cotton Grotto, 233. 

Crawford, Captain, 86, 89,94. 
Creed, Church of the, 242. 
Crete, 221. 

Crusaders, 166, 169, 186, 191, 
198, 211, 127, 220, 229, 230, 
234. 

Ctesephon, 120, 121. 

Ctesias, 107. 

Cunaxa, 144. 



296 


Bust and Ashes of Empires 


Cunningham, General, 149. 
Cyprus, 221. 

Cyrus, 116, 158. 

Cyrus the Younger, 144. 

Daily, Major, 100. 

Dam at First Cataract, 14. 
Damas, 196. 

Damascus, 180, 194, 196, 197, 
203-205. 

Damascus Gate, 261. 

Daniel, 116. 

Daragi, 94, 97. 

Darius, 116. 

Dashur, 18, 24, 33. 

David, 8, 210, 222-226, 247, 
264, 265, 272, 285. 

David Street, 227. 
Davidsburg, 224. 

De Lesseps, 61, 64, 66. 

Dead, Book of the, 274. 

Dead Sea, 115, 244, 254, 269. 
Death, 277. 

Death, Valley of, 258. 
Deborah, 211, 212. 

Deir Mawas, 35. 

Delilah, 221. 

Dempsey, E. F., 5. 

Denver, 187. 

Der el Bahri, 44, 46, 278. 
Der’a, 205-207. 

Der el Medineh, 48. 

Der es Zor, 152, 153, 162. 

Der Hafir, 162. 

DeSarzec, 87. 

Dibsi, 159. 

Dimitri, Mount, 181. 
Diospolis, 219. 

Dives, 227. 

Dwaniyeh, 97, 98, 100. 

Dog River, 184, 185. 

Dome of the Rock, Mosque of, 
237, 268. 

Doolittle, Miss, 187. 

Dothan, 213. 

Drah Abu’l Negga, 44. 

Druses, 195. 

Dungi, 80. 

Dur Sharrukin, 136. 


Ebal, 215, 243, 256, 258. 
Eddy, Mrs., 187. 

Eden, Garden of, 148, 231. 
Edfu, 49, 55. 

Edgerton, W. F., 5,13, 90, 91. 
Edrei, 207. 

Edward IV., 266. 

Edward VII., 262. 

Effendi, 15, 16. 

Egypt, 7, 12-16, 18, 31-33, 37- 
41, 51, 54-66, 72, 74, 124, 
158, 164, 167, 174, 186, 188, 
194, 207, 213, 219, 270, 271, 
273, 281, 282, 284, 285, 291. 
Egyptian mines, 67. 

Egyptian Museum, 291. 
Egyptians, 39, 166, 174, 211, 
214, 216. 

Ekron, 220. 

El Hamman, 159. 

El Hammi, 208. 

El Kab, 55, 281. 

El Kubeibeh, 254. 

El Kuseir, 170. 

El Lejah, 205. 

El Mansur, 118. 

Elah, vale of, 223. 
Elephantine, 57, 58, 62. 

Eli, 261. 

Elijah, 193, 197, 205, 210, 213, 
214 272. 

Elisha, 197, 205, 210, 213. 
Elizabeth, 250. 

Emir Tersal, 200, 202, 246. 
Emmaus, 254. 

Emory University, 6, 82, 87, 
113, 197. 

Endor, 212,217. 

Engedi, 244. 

England, 66, 79. 

Englishmen, 155,237. 

Erech, 95,108. 

Eridu, 81, 82,146. 

E-Sagila, 107, 110. 
Esarhaddon, 135, 184. 
Esdraelon, 211. 

Esh Sham, 196. 

Eshmunezer, 192. 

Esther, 284. 



Index 


297 


Ethbaal, 191. 

Ethiopian, 57. 

Euphrates, 43, 74, 80, 84, 94, 
97, 98, 101, 102, 107, 108, 
111, 113, 132, 144, 145, 150, 
157, 161, 158, 217, 283. 
Europe, 79. 

Europeans, 121, 165. 

Eusebius, 208, 229, 266. 

Euye, 283. 

Eve, 231. 

Exodus, 64. 

Ezekiel, 116, 191, 272. 

Ezra, 219. 

Fakhreddin, 181, 190. 

Fatima, 198. 

Feisal, King, 200, 202, 246. 
Fellahen, 15. 

Fisher, Dr. 31, 98. 

Ford, Dr., 191, 192. 

Fowler, Mr., 187, 188. 

France, 18. 

Franciscans, 240. 

Fraser, General, 137. 

French, 172, 180,183, 201. 
French army, 184. 

French Catholics, 129, 133, 
195. 

Fulluja, 144. 

Gadara, 208. 

Galilee, 203, 209, 211, 215, 
239, 242, 244, 256, 260. 
Galilee, Lake of, 208, 212, 256. 
Gaza, 270. 

Gebal, 186. 

Genesis, Tower of, 106. 
Gentiles, 219. 

Georgia, 57. 

Gerizim, 215, 256. 

German Hospice, 242, 243. 
Germans, 96, 109, 113, 124, 
125, 216, 226, 259. 

Gesem, 61. 

Gethsemane, 240, 242, 244, 
268. 

Gezer, 221. 

Gibeah, 244, 254, 261. 
Gibraltar, Strait of, 11. 


Gideon, 211, 217. 

Gihon, Spring of, 225. 

Gilboa, 209, 210, 215, 256. 
Gilead, 209, 213,244, 256. 
Gilgal, 254. 

Gizeh, 18, 26, 275. 
Glazebrook, Dr., 267. 

“God’s land,” 27. 

Golgotha, Chapel of, 231. 
Goliath, 223. 

Gomorrah, 197. 

Goshen, 61, 62, 269. 

Gournot, General, 183. 

Great Pyramid, 19, 275. 

Great Sea, 61, 63. 

Greece, 198, 284. 

Greek and Roman remains, 16. 
Greeks, 40, 176, 216, 231, 232. 
Gudea, 87. 

Guyyar, 142. 

Habiri, 282. 

Hadad, 166. 

Hadid, 219. 

Haditha, 147. 

Hadramut, 72. 

Hadrian, 49, 237. 

Haggi Nejef Effendi, 138, 141. 
Haifa, 214, 216, 218, 268, 270. 
Haleb, 166. 

Hama, 168. 

Hamath, 168, 169. 

Hambro, Gen. Percy, 117,119, 
143. 

Hamid, 76. 

Hammurabi, 110,115, 164. 
Hanging gardens, 107, 108, 
115. 

Haram esh Sherif, 232, 233, 
237. 

Haran, 158, 257. 

Harmhab, 286. 

Harper, 98. 

Harte, A. C., 249, 251, 267. 
Hartford Theological Semi¬ 
nary, 267. 

Harun-al-Rashid, 117,118. 
Harvard Expedition, 256. 
Hasmoneans, 216. 

Hassan, Sultan, 19. 




298 


Dust and Ashes of Empires 


Hatshepsut, 44, 48, 278, 282. 
Hauran, 205, 207. 

Hauran Railway, 204. 

Haynes, T. H., 98. 

Hazael, 205. 

Hebrew Scriptures, 8. 
Hebrews, 64, 65, 219, 221, 223, 
257, 259, 271, 281, 285, 286, 
291. 

Hebron, 244, 261-264. 

Hedjaz, 182, 200. 

Heiser, 0. M., 120, 143. 
Helena, 229, 231. 

Heliopolis, 24, 176, 177. 
Helios, 176. 

Hercules, Pillars of, 11, 12. 
Herculaneum, 12. 

Hermon, Mount, 180, 194, 
195, 204, 212, 215, 256. 
Herod the Great, 219, 234. 
Herodotus, 20-22, 40,106,146, 
273. 

Hezekiah, 225. 

Hezekiah, Pool of, 227. x 
Hill of Offense, 225. 

Hill of the Kings’ Tombs, 276. 
Hillah, 100-102, 113, 118. 
Hilprecht, 98. 

Hit, 80, 146, 147. 

Hittites, 38,115,124,169,171, 
174, 211. 

Holmes, Burton, 261, 270. 
Holofernes, 216. 

Holy City, 222, 224, 252, 267. 
Holy Sepulcher, Church of, 
228, 230, 243. 

Homs, 169, 170, 172. 

Hophra, 62. 

Husein, 102. 

Hutton, Miss Elizjabeth, 187, 
188. 

Hyksos, 55, 62, 281. 

Ikhnaton, 36, 38, 284, 285, 
286. 

Immortality, 274. 

Imperial Ottoman Bank, 76. 
India, 66, 69, 73,121, 251. 
Indian Ocean, 71. 

Indian soldiers, 136. 


Indians, 75. 

Isaac, 228, 230, 232, 236, 263. 
Isaac Ben Omram, 258. 

Isaiah, 225. 

Ishbosheth, 264. 

Ishmaelites, 213. 

Ishtar, 109, 111. 

Italians, 165. 

Italy, 11, 12. 

Jackson, 167. 

Jacob, 8, 61, 65, 236, 257, 259, 
261, 263, 272, 281. 

Jacob’s well, 258. 

Jaffa, 218, 221-223. 

Jaffa Gate, 234, 250, 254, 261. 
Jaineh, 128. 

James, 239, 240. 

Jami el Kebir, 191. 

Jebeil, 186, 187. 

Jebel Kasyun, 205. 

Jebusites, 224. 

Jehoahaz, 175. 

Jehoshaphat, 233, 239, 244. 
Jehovah, 213, 214, 235. 

Jehu, 140, 216. 

Jenin, 216. 

Jeremiah, 65, 191. 

Jericho, 244-246, 254. 
Jeroboam, 65, 261. 

Jeroboam II., 213. 

Jerome, St., 266. 

Jerusalem, 38, 58, 105, 114, 
121, 194, 219-223, 224-248, 
249-272. 

Jesse, 265. 

Jesus, 65, 191, 198, 205, 208, 
209, 214-217, 223, 227-235, 
240-242, 269. 

Jews, 119, 216, 220, 239, 246, 
284. 

Jezebel, 217. 

Jezreel, 210, 211, 213, 216. 
Job, 273. 

John the Baptist, 197, 239, 
249, 250. 

Jonah, 128, 134, 135, 141. 
Jonathan, 210. 

Joppa, 219. 

Joram, 210. 



Index 


299 


Jordan, 209,215, 244-246, 254, 
256. 

Joseph, 65, 213, 216, 240, 259, 
272, 284, 286, 291. 

Josephus, 62. 

Joshua, 183, 210-213, 217,221, 
222, 260. 

Judah, 115. 

Judas, 241. 

Judean Hills, 256. 

Jupiter, 177. 

Jupiter, Temple of, 178. 

Justin Martyr, 265. 

Justinian, 237. 

Juvenal, 58. 

Kadesh, 47, 171, 173, 186, 
189, 195, 278. 

Kaiser, 226, 243, 262. 

Kalat Shergat, 123, 124. 

Kalat Sikkar, 89, 90, 95. 
Kamu’at el Hirmil, 172. 
Karakush, 139. 

Karnak, 41, 42, 62, 277, 279. 
Kasr, 110, 111, 115. 

Kerbela, 102, 103. 

Khafre, 18, 19, 25. 

Khartum, 13. 

Khayatt, 123, 139. 

Khirbet el Ghazaleh, 206. 
Khorsabad, 136, 141. 

Khufu, 18, 19, 23. 

Kidron, 225, 233, 239, 244, 
268. 

Kishon, 212-215. 

Knights of St. John, 191. 

Kom Ombo, 55. 

Koran, 135. 

Kuba, 102, 104. 

Kunyunjik, 134, 137. 

Kurdish Mountains, 124, 129. 
Kurdistan, 131, 136. 

Kurds, 136, 137. 

Kurna, 44. 

Kuseir, 170, 174. 

Kut el Amara, 84. 

Kuweik, 166. 

Lagash, 86, 126. 

Lambert, Dr., 167. 


Laodicea, 171. 

Larsa, 96. 

Latins, 231. 

Layard, 134. 

Lazarus, 227, 268. 

Leacbman, Colonel, 129, 149, 
152. 

Leah, 263. 

Lebanon Mountains, 167, 168, 
170, 172, 174, 176, 180-195, 
204, 215. 

Lejjun Mound of, 212. 

Levi, 259. 

Levites, 235. 

Libyan Hills, 49. 

Litani, 176, 180, 195, 196. 
Little Hermon, 212. 

Lod, 219. 

Loftus, W. K., 96. 

London, University of, 286. 
Lord’s Prayer, 242. 

Louvre, 192. 

Lower Egypt, 31, 32. 
Luckenbill, D. D., 5, 13, 155. 
Lud, 219, 255, 270. 

Luxor, 38, 40, 41, 54, 277, 279. 
Lydda, 219, 220. 

Ma’adan, 157. 

Macalister, R. A. S., 221, 225. 
Maccabees, 272. 

Machpelah, 262. 

Madenet Isa, 198. 

Maghara, Wady, 67. 

Ma’lud Pasha, 152, 153. 
Mamelukes, 17, 166. 

Mamre, 264. 

Manget, John A., 6. 

Marcus Antoninus, 184. 
Marduk, 107, 110, 111. 
Mariette, Auguste, 29. 
Maritime Plain, 222. 

Mark Antony, 217. 

Marriage procession, 154. 
Martha, 268. 

Mary, 65, 240, 250, 268. 

Mary Magdalene, Church of, 
242. 

Maude, Hotel, 143. 

Maximus, 68. 




300 


Dust and Ashes of Empires 


Mayyadin, 151. 

Mecca, 264. 

Medinet Habu, 48. 
Mediterranean, 11, 12, 60, 66, 
161, 184, 212, 245, 252, 256. 
Megiddo, 209, 211-213. 
Meidan, 204. 

Mejlef tent, 88. 

Melchizedek, 230. 

Memnon statues, 48, 278. 
Memphis, 28, 29, 31, 32, 62, 
274. 

Mena, 187. 

Meneptah, 63. 

Menes, 32, 39, 67, 280. 
Menkure, 18. 

Menzaleh, Lake, 61, 64. 
Mercury, 177. 

Merkes, 110. 

Merneptah of the Exodus, 17. 
Meskenet, 160. 

Mesopotamia, 74, 75, 77, 87, 
90, 95, 97, 100, 113, 117, 
121, 124, 131, 149, 164, 207. 
Messiah, 243. 

Methodist mission, 121. 
Metropolitan Museum, 276. 
Mezar Elyesha, 205. 

Middle Ages, 129. 

Middle Kingdom, 41, 42. 
Miriam, 64. 

Missal, 90, 92. 

Mizpah, 244, 252-254, 261. 
Moab, 244, 254, 269. 
Mohammed, 83, 236. 
Mohammedans, 119, 217. 
Mohammerah, 74, 143. 
Mokattam Hills, 17, 20, 24. 
Mokattam limestone, 22. 
Mongols, 166. 

Moreh, Hill of, 212. 

Moriah, Mount, 226, 232, 256. 
Moses, 8, 60, 64, 66, 68, 69, 
207, 244, 282, 285, 286. 
Moslems, 105, 119, 139, 169, 
183, 189, 196, 205, 217, 218, 
220, 236, 239, 248, 262, 263. 
Mosques, 17, 103, 119, 233, 
234, 236. 


Mosul, 78, 123, 127-134, 142, 
149,167. 

Mukeis, 208. 

Musa, Mount, 66,68. 

Muskat, 73. 

Muttallu, 173. 

Mycerinus, 18. 

Naaman, 196, 197, 199. 

Nabal, 264. 

Nabonidus, 80. 

Nabopolassar, 108, 109, 111, 

112 . 

Naboth, 210, 216. 

Nabulus, 254-256, 258, 261. 
Nagi Beg, 155, 156, 167. 
Naharim, 164. 

Nahr el A’waj, 197. 

Nahr el Dahab, 162. 

Nahr el-Ibrahim, 185, 186. 
Nahr el-Kelb, 184. 

Nahum, 141. 

Nain, 212. 

Napean, General, 75. 
Napoleon, 17, 24, 184, 211, 
217. 

Narmar, 32. 

Nassar Hotel, 218. 

Nativity, Church of the, 265. 
Nazareth, 214, 215. 

Nazjiriyeh, 83, 84, 86, 94, 97. 
Neapolis, 256. 

Near East, 5, 7, 11, 13, 16, 65, 
127, 131, 136, 159, 195, 271. 
Nebo, 140, 244, 254, 269. 
Nebuchadnezzar, 106-112,116, 
175, 234. 

Nebuchadnezzar II., 108, 115, 
118,184. 

Neby Samwil, 252, 253. 

Neby Yunus, 134, 135. 
Nefertiti, 283. 

Nehemiah, 219,268,284. 
Nejef, 102, 103, 105, 136. 
Nelson, Harold, 181, 187. 

New Babylon, 118. 

New Testament, 8. 

Nicsea, Council of, 191. 
Nicodemus, 230. 



Index 301 


Nile, 13, 15, 20, 24-26, 31, 35, 
38, 40, 46, 49, 51, 55-60, 64- 
66, 273, 278, 283. 
Nilometers, 14, 58. 

Nimrud, 137-139, 141. 
Nineveh, 134, 136, 138, 141. 
Nippur, 98. 

Nitocris, 107. 

No Amon, 41. 

Nobles, 55. 

North America, 218. 

Northern Israel, 140,197, 210, 
256, 258, 260. 

Northern Texas, 234. 

Nubia, 63. 

Nussireyeh, 167, 172, 189. 

Offense, Hill of, 241. 

Old Testament, 8. 

Oldest stone structure, 28. 
Olives, Mount of, 233, 240, 
241. 

Olivet Mount, 240-245, 250, 
262, 268, 269. 

Omar, Mosque of, 224, 236. 
Onias, 62. 

Ono, 220. 

Onis, 34. 

Ophir, 27, 45, 71. 

Oman, 236. 

Orontes, 165,168,169,173-176, 
186,278. 

Osir, 124. 

Osiris, 39. 

Owens, C. R., 120. 

Owens, Thomas R., 143. 

Padan-Aram, 257. 

Palestine, 7, 43, 183, 209, 218, 
219, 224, 244, 247-250, 253, 
256, 263, 265, 267, 271, 272, 
282, 285. 

Palmyrenes, 169. 

Parsees, 72. 

Parthian coffins, 135. 
Parthians, 120. 

Paterson, Alexander, 262-264. 
Patesi, 87. 

Paul, 199, 205, 219. 


Peace Conference, 149, 153, 
183, 246. 

Pelagius, 219. 

Pennsylvania, University of, 
31, 98, 99, 210, 274. 
Pentecost, 219, 234. 

Persia, 73, 77, 103, 122, 131, 
143,182. 

Persian Gulf, 74, 81, 161. 
Persians, 166. 

Peter 219. 

Peter the Hermit, 242. 

Peters, Dr. John P., 98, 238, 
249, 252, 267. 

Pharaoh Necho, 175. 

Pharaohs, 12, 42, 61,64, 65,67, 
70, 71, 221, 286. 

Pharpar, 197, 204. 

Philse, 56. 

Philip, 219, 265. 

Philip d’Aubigny, 229. 
Philistines, 220, 222, 223. 
Philo, 186. 

Phoenician coast, 27. 
Phoenicians, 194, 195. 

Pithom, 62, 286. 

Place, Victor, 134, 137. 

Pling, 169. 

Plotinus, birthplace of, 38. 
Pompeii, 12. 

Pompey, 217. 

Pompey’s Pillar, 16. 

Port Said, 64, 144. 

Port Tanfik, 66. 

Presbyterian missionaries, 122. 
Prophets, 8. 

Psalm civ., 36. 

Psalm cxxxvii., 114. 

Ptolemaic period, 55. 
Ptolemies, 41, 42, 278. 
Ptolemy Philadelphus, 16. 
Ptolemy Philometer, 62. 

Punt, 27, 45, 46, 71. 
Pyramids, 18, 19, 21-26, 35. 

Qadamain, 143. 

Raamses, 62, 286, 288. 
Rabshakeh, 169. 

Rachel’s tomb, 266. 




302 


Dust and Ashes of Empires 


Rahaba, 152. 

Railways, Egyptian, 54. 
Ramada, 152. 

Ramadan, 155, 156, 234. 
Ramadi, 145. 

Ramah, 244, 254, 261. 
Rameses, 52, 278. 

Rameses II., 17, 30, 33, 39, 41, 
42, 44, 46, 47, 173, 174, 184, 
189, 211, 278, 286. 

Rameses III., 48. 

Rameseum, 46, 48, 278. 
Ramleh, 220. 

Ramund of St. Giles, 188. 
Ras-Beirut, 181. 

Rayak, 180, 195. 

Re, 173, 174. 

Rebecca, 263. 

Red Cross, 137, 139, 167, 222. 
Red Sea, 41, 60, 63, 64, 66, 71. 
Redeemer, Church of the, 243. 
Rehoboam, 260. 

Reisner, Dr., 62. 

Rephaim, 222. 

Resurrection, 274. 
Resurrection, Church of the, 
228. 

Reyak, 172. 

Rezin, 197. 

Riblah, 175. 

Roman Empire, 152. 

Roman fort, 144, 149, 152. 
Romans, 166, 186, 207, 216, 
253 

Rome* 58, 123, 176. 

Russia, 182, 232. 

Russian Hospice, 241, 264. 
Ruth, 265. 

Sabhah, 157, 158. 

Safed, 268. 

Sahara, 24, 26, 31, 60, 273, 
278, 279. 

Sahure, 27. 

Sahure group, 24. 

Sa’id Hassan, 84. 

Saida, 190. 

St. George, 199, 220. 

St. George’s Bay, 181. 

St. John, Church of, 197. 
Sakere, 285. 


Sakkarah, 17, 24, 27, 33, 274. 
Saladin, 186, 198, 217. 
Salihiyeh, 144, 149. 

Salim, Dr., 259. 

Samakh, 209. 

Samaria, 211, 256. 

Samaritans, 257. 

Samson, 221. 

Samuel, 253, 254, 261. 

Sandy, '220. 

Sarafand, 193. 

Sarah, 263. 

Sarepta, 193. 

Sargon I., 115, 136, 138. 

Saul, 210, 211, 217. 

Scopus, Mount, 241. 
Scriptures, 16, 38. 

Seilun, 261. 

Seleucia, 118, 120. 

Semites, 164. 

Semitic race, 11. 

Semitic Syrians, 27. 

Senkere, 97. 

Sennacherib, 110, 134, 169. 
Sennacherib II., 126. 

Septimus Severus, 49, 169. 
Serapeum, 16, 29. 

Serbal, Mount, 66, 67. 
Sesostris III., 33. 

Set and Horus, 17. 

Sethos I., 43, 44, 278. 

Seti I., 39, 52. 

Seti II., 63. 

Shakespeare, 165. 

Shalmaneser I., 138, 140. 
Shalmaneser II., 166, 184. 
Sharon, 211, 218, 219. 

Shat el Arab, 74, 143. 

Shat el Hai, 84, 86. 

Shat el Nil, 98. 

Shatra, 84, 94. 

Shechem, 256, 259. 

Sheik-Asad, 158. 

Shellal, 13. 

Shephelah, 223. 

Shepherd kings, 281. 

Shergat, 127, 142. 

Shiites, 102, 119. 

Shiloh, 261. 

Shinar, 80, 115, 146. 





Index 


303 


Shishak, 43. 

Shulman, Captain, 100. 
Shunammite, 214. 

Shunem, 212, 214. 

Siddim, 115, 158. 

Sidon, 190, 191, 193. 
Sidonians, 191. 

Silence, House of, 72. 

Siloah, 225. 

Siloam, Pool of, 225. 
Siraeon u 259. 

Sinai, 28. 

Sinaitic group, 66. 

Sisera, 212. 

Smith, 166, 223. 

Smith, George, 167, 216, 222. 
Snefree, 33, 186. 

Solomon, 46, 71, 177,186, 221, 
225, 232-237, 241, 260, 265, 
272. 

Sorek, 211, 221, 223, 270. 
South, University of the, 238, 
249, 267. 

Spanish coast, 11. 

Sphinx, 25. 

Standard Oil Company, 143. 
Stephen, 240. 

Straight Street, 199. 

Sudan, 57. 

Suewj, 86. 

Suez, 60-66. 

Suleiman, 220. 

Sumerians, 115. 

Sunnites, 119. 

Sychar, 258, 260. 

Syene, 58. 

Syria, 7, 56, 105, 124,172,187, 
195, 197, 198, 205-207, 271.' 
Syrian desert, 105, 128, 151, 
204. 

Syrian Protestant College, 
182 

Syrians, 183, 197, 216. 
Taanach, 213. 

Tabor, Mount, 211, 212, 215. 
Tahpanhes, 62. 

Tak-i-kesra, 120. 

Tammuz, 185. 

Tekrit, 143. 


Tel Ammud, 89. 

Tel Biseh, 169. 
Tel-el-Amarna, 35, 38, 181, 
221 

Tel elFuhl, 254. 

Tel Neby Mindo, 171. 

Tel Neby Yunus, 134, 135. 
Tel Yehudiyeh, 62. 

Tel Yokha, Mound of, 90. 
Temple, Solomon’s, 234, 236. 
Theban dynasties, 279. 
Thebes, 35, 38, 40, 51, 54, 
243, 277, 283, 285, 289. 
Theodosius the Great, 177, 
197. 

Thinis, 281. 

Thothmes III., 17. 

Thutmose, 52, 282. 

Thutmose III., 41, 44, 48,173, 
186, 211, 282. 

Ti (landowner), 30; (queen), 
43, 276, 283-286, 291. 

Tibni, 156. 

Tiglath Pileser, 184. 

Tigris, 74, 84, 108, 117, 118, 
123-134, 141, 143. 

Timsah, Lake, 61. 
Tischendorf, 68. 

Titus, 217, 241. 

Tomb No. 35, 50. 

Tripoli, 169, 187-190. 
Tulkeram, 255. 

Tumilat, Wady, 61-63. 
Turkey, 120, 131, 142, 182. 
Turkish homes, 129, 130. 
Turks, 149, 252. 
Tut-ankh-amen, 273, 279, 285, 
286, 288, 291. 
Tut-ankh-aton, 285. 

Tutu, 285. 

Tuye, 283. 

Tyre, .190, 191. 

Tyropoeon Valley, 226, 228, 
237. 

Umma, 90. 

Uniate Church, 123, 139. 
United Egypt, 31, 32. 

United States, 201. 

Unus, 34, 



304 


Dust and Ashes of Empires 


Upper Egypt, 31, 32. 

Ur, 80-83, 146, 211, 267. 
Ur-Engur, 80. 

Ur Junction, 79, 80. 
Ur-Megiddo, 211. 

Valley of the Kings’ Tombs, 
277. 

Van Ess, Rev. John, 77. 
Venice, 165. 

Venus, 177. 

Vespasian, 217. 

Vesuvius, 12, 69. 

Via Dolorosa, 227. 

Wady Ali, 223. 

Wady el Ghurab, 223. 

Wady el Najil, 223. 

Waghorn, Lieutenant, 66. 
Wailing Wall, 247. 

Wales, Prince of, 262. 

Warka, 95, 97. 

Warne, Bishop Frank W., 121. 
Washington, George, 59. 
Webster, Professor, 182. 

Well of Mary, 216. 

Western Asia, 51, 75. 

Western Kingdom, 39. 


Westminster Abbey, 98. 

White Walls, 32. 

Wilderness of Judah, 244. 
Willcox, Sir William, 148. 
Wilson, 167. 

Wilson, Woodrow, 156. 
Worrell, W. H., 267. 

Xenophon, 166. 

Yale University, 267. 

Yarmuk, 207-209. 

Yebu, 58. 

Y. M. C. A., 77, 249, 251, 267. 
Young, Mr., 202. 

Zacharias, 239, 250. 

Zagazik, 61. 

Zarephath, 193. 

Zedekiah, 175. 

Zeizum, 207. 

Ziggurat, 80. 

Zion, Mount, 224-226, 232, 
268. 

Zionists, 247. 

Zorah, 221. 

Zoser, King, 27, 28, 59. 


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